When I Get There
by MsDiana
Summary: Luke's been with the team long enough for Penelope to consider him part of the big happy family, at this point they're even friends. But she's still denying her real feelings. When the team faces a personal threat, they must travel to Luke's hometown. Derek comes back to help them solve the case while also managing to push our two love birds together.
1. Chapter 1

This story is now finished. If you happen upon this story and it's been awhile please know I still appreciate your support. I love reviews, favs, follows on anything I've done. Always feel free to reach out. Thanks for reading.

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It was a Saturday evening, she had been enjoying sipping her tea while she obsessively watched a new show she had just discovered existed, when she got the call. Penelope now rushed off the elevator stopping to readjust one foot in her low heels before ambling towards the glass doors and straight to the room that held the rest of her team. "What, what is it? What is the emergency?" Her frightened eyes were taking in the faces scattered about the room.

"Sit down." Emily was somber as Penelope took a seat, "I just got confirmation from a friend of mine that Hotch reentered witness protection with Jack."

"What? What! Why?" Penelope looked around to the others for answers but most of them only had partial answers themselves. Emily had been waiting for Penelope to arrive, before running down the whole account.

"Apparently, he received an envelope containing pictures of him and Jack but also some of Hayley's sister."

"But Mr. Scratch is gone, he - he's gone, you were there, he's gone." Penelope glanced to Luke who gave her a sympathetic smile and a nod.

She swallowed before speaking again, "Okay so we figure out who is doing this, just so that we, we have to-" Penelope was already making a plan.

Emily held her hands up, "Actually, there's a bigger issue than just Hotch. After I was made aware of this, I made courtesy calls to other former members of our team, no one had anything to report. Then not even twenty minutes later Blake called me back, she was left an envelope at her classroom door. She only uses the back entrance so it could've been there for awhile. It contained pictures of her and her husband various places."

"Derek?" Penelope's scared face was already questioning.

"Right here, Baby Girl." Derek smiled as he entered the conference room.

Penelope turned around, "My Love!" She got up to hug him.

He kissed the top of her head as he rubbed her arm. "It's okay Sweetness, we'll figure this out." He quickly greeted the others before turning his attention to Prentiss.

"Savannah and Hank are going to stay here in protective custody, Blake opted for protective detail. Some of us haven't gotten any threats yet, but Hayden or your daughter, Will and the boys, your Mom, anyone you think may need it right now, I will set that up while we find this guy." She spoke to the various members of her team.

"Some of us haven't gotten threats _yet_? Why did you say some?" Penelope was letting Derek's arm around her shoulders comfort her like a warm blanket helping to keep the bone chilling terror at bay.

Emily took a deep breath, "This afternoon, Luke's grandmother found pictures of herself in her mailbox as well. She called Luke immediately."

"Smart lady." Derek tipped his head at Luke. Penelope now noticed that Luke's normally cool behavior was belied by his concerned eyes. Her heart going out to him she felt the telling wetness form in the corner of her eye.

"I want you to reach out to any family you think might have received something maybe they haven't found it yet or maybe they don't know that it's a threat."

"So what's the plan then?" Rossi inquired.

"Once everyone's loved ones are safe, we get on this immediately. We are not going to let another Mr. Scratch happen. We aren't going to let the people we love live in fear just because of our jobs." Emily's tenacity was palpable. "With Hotch and Blake safe, I think we need to focus on Luke. The pictures of his grandmother were taken over the course of more than two weeks, so we know this guy was there for a long time, long enough to leave a breadcrumb somewhere." Prentiss informed.

"It's clear they know who we all are, past and present, Luke was most likely just the first of us targeted." Reid announced, even though no one wanted to hear it, he was right.

"We're going to New York, whoever left that for her was there just a few hours ago, it's our best lead. Derek, don't worry we aren't going to let this guy come close to your family." Prentiss wanted him to know that she wasn't going to let this happen to any of them.

"Oh I know, because I'm coming with you." He crossed his arms.

"Derek, you don't have to do that, you made a promise to your family and we understand that." Emily breathed deeply.

"I did. I told them I would keep them safe and I will, if this guy already knows who we are then I need to do this."

Prentiss nodded, "Okay, everyone, give me names of anyone you need to keep safe, I'll have Anderson coordinate it. Wheels up in thirty."

The team was filing out of the room, some of them began making phone calls and preparing to leave. Penelope glanced over to Luke who was the last to stand up from the table, she left Derek's embrace and took a few steps towards Emily to speak to her quietly. "Emily, can I come?"

Prentiss had a few papers in her hand she let her arm fall to her side looking at the woman in front of her with concern, "Garcia, you don't have to do that, you'll be safe here."

Penelope's eyes dropped, glancing to the side where Luke was gathering his stuff to follow the others. "I know, I just, I think I - New York is one of the most watched cities in the world, there are cameras everywhere, it might be easier to hack those kinds of things being nearby and all." She blinked knowing that it sounded flimsy at best.

Emily's eyes travelled to Luke who was leaving the room, "Okay, if you think that it would be important to come with us then, I'll allow it, but if I think there is any unnecessary danger you're coming back here."

Penelope nodded, Emily peered over her head at Derek before turning to exit through the back door of the room. "Penelope," Derek sing-songed her name, "What's this really about?" His arms were crossed as he moved into her space his head tilted as he awaited her answer.

"I just - I just-" She gazed out of the window of the conference room, her eyes finding Luke's stride as he moved through the bull pen. "I need to help just like you do, I don't want to live in fear again and I don't want anyone else to either."

Derek swiveled, following the path of her sight, he narrowed his eyes before turning back to her. "Okay, I understand, but silly girl, your safety is number one out there. Don't make me spank you."

"Don't threaten me with a good time." She raised her eyebrows at him before sauntering away.

He laughed, the lines near his eyes crinkling as he watched her exit, "What am I going to do with you?" He asked himself quietly as he set out to find Savannah to say a goodbye before heading out to the field to do what he secretly missed.

….

With nine people on the jet it felt more crowded than it ever had before. After they had their initial brainstorm that seemed almost useless considering they had less than nothing to go on, Luke had gone to the back row where he had been staring out of a window for the last twenty minutes. The group was gathered around the four-seater table chatting about other cases where they became targets. Penelope was standing near them but her eyes kept darting to where Luke was quietly contemplating. She looked at the others who were all occupied, jumping off of each other's ideas. She decided she wanted to comfort her friend. She ambled towards him pausing when she got next to him, scanning his profile. "Garcia, just sit down." A small smile formed on his face.

She pursed her lips, before taking the seat next to him. "I just wanted to check on you."

"I know. Are you going to start calling me Newbie again since Morgan is here? Because I thought we were moving past that." There was a smile still on his lips as he kept his eyes trained on the clouds passing by.

"I only do that sometimes now," she let her eyes drop to her lap where she had brought her hands, "I promise not to let all the strides you've made be in vain." She tried to joke.

He let his eyes fall to the wing of the plane taking a deep breath, "I'm really okay, it's just a little weird. I'm used to being in danger but I'm not used to putting other people in danger because of me. It's disconcerting."

"Yeah. We'll find this guy, he won't hurt any of us. He won't hurt you, I won't let him." Her eyes were examining her hands as she started wringing them.

"I'd hate to be him, I already know what it's like to be on your bad side." He'd turned to her, observing her hands moving in her lap.

"We're friends now though, at least most days." She raised her eyes, surprised that he'd been watching her, their eyes connecting. Her breath hitched.

"We are." He glanced at her lips before meeting her eyes again, "You don't regret letting me off the hook do you? I mean are you even entertained anymore, without someone to haze?" His eyes got bright as he asked the question a smile slipping over his lips again.

She rolled her eyes, "Well you're making me regret it a little now." But she smiled at him anyway.

He put his hand out, palm up, sliding it over her lap, she put her hand in his, he gripped her fingers, "Thanks Garcia. You seem to be there for me when I've needed it lately."

"We're family, right?" She smiled at their hands moving over each other.

"We are, I'm glad I'm here or should I say I'm glad you allow me to be here, Your Majesty." He gave her one of his wide smiles.

"Don't cross me, I could transfer you to a post in Alaska from my tablet." They were both chuckling when Derek appeared next to them.

"Just checking on everything, you feeling okay Doll Face?" Derek put his hand on her shoulder noticing their hands touching.

"Yeah I'm okay, just making sure the Newb knows we're a team."

"Hey, what did we _just_ talk about?" Luke tried to give her a stern look but the glee in his eyes betrayed him.

"I said I wouldn't call you that often, I still reserve the right to use it." She stuck her neck out, daring him to tell her otherwise.

"Well you're here now, so you're family." Derek assured him.

"This isn't the Olive Garden, Derek." Penelope's face lit up at her own jest.

Derek furrowed his eyebrows but she conspiratorially elbowed Luke who was laughing at her joke. "What is happening here?" JJ appeared in the aisle glancing between the three.

"Morgan set himself up for a fairly good joke, I'd say." Luke explained.

JJ quirked her head towards Derek and then back at the two laughing with each other. Derek shook his head at them as he walked away to refill his coffee cup, JJ following behind him. He over her head, observing Luke and Penelope chatting happily. "What is happening here?"

JJ glanced over her shoulder before reaching for a cup as well, "So far? Nothing."

"So far?" Derek raised his eyebrows in question.

"They're, I don't know they just sort of get each other in this, weird simple way." She had put one hand in the pocket of her blazer, gesturing with it as she thought of the words to describe the situation, "It's like she - like her friend who can tease her but also be there for her, but it's still more than that, it's hard to describe."

"Wow, I guess I've been missing out."

"You don't text your _Baby Girl_ everyday to check on her?" JJ had tried to imitate his voice when she'd repeated the well-worn nickname.

Derek grinned, shaking his head, "I try to keep up with her but I don't think she's mentioned this."

"She mentions him though." JJ took a sip of her coffee.

"Yeah, don't get me wrong, I figured she resented him and then maybe had a little tiny bit of a crush on him but I didn't know they were really friends. It sort of seems more, I don't know, serious, than if she just said he was hot." Derek peered over her shoulder again.

"Yeah, it sort of does." JJ took a deep breath as she scrutinized the two people now whispering to each other. "I just hope that whatever it is, they both figure it out soon because I don't want to see either one of them get hurt." She tipped her head at Derek before bringing the hot coffee to her lips as she moved down the aisle and back to the group. Derek took one more look at his best friend before following JJ's actions.


	2. Chapter 2

I can't speak for every writer, but I know for me, the support from all of you gives me the motivation to get these stories out of my brain. Favs, follows, reviews let me know that I'm on the right track and it's worth it to finish. So _really_ thank you for that. Those of you who are raising a fist and cursing my name because I said my other story was getting updated first, I apologize but my brain decided this was happening today instead.

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They landed at LaGuardia, immediately getting into three SUV's and being taken to the field office nearest Luke's old neighborhood. Penelope followed her team into the small building, it was set up much like their own, but the entire place could fit into just the bullpen of theirs. She had brought a laptop with her but she felt lucky that this case wasn't one that they were coordinating with local police, because at least an FBI field office provided her with a decent IT room. She was shown in by the lone tech staffer at the small extension of the Bureau, Michael. He was clammy and a little weird even for a computer nerd. She smiled at him kindly when he'd given her free range of his office, that was somehow smaller than hers despite housing just as many computers.

After getting the lay of the land, she rejoined her team that was gathered in a small conference room, one of the only places that seemed to be out of hearing distance from the rest of the open setting.

"Okay, so our hotel is literally around the block, and Alvez's Grandmother lives only ten minutes from here." Prentiss was explaining. "Dave, Spencer, Tara, Matt, JJ, first thing tomorrow, split up and go to the market, the community center, everyplace this guy watched her."

"Not now?" Simmons questioned, his arms crossed in front of him.

"Luke's grandmother starts her week at the six a.m. mass, which is when the photos at the church were taken, I want you to be out in the daytime to figure out where this guy was set up, how it was easy enough for him to blend in. This is New York, you can't do anything without someone seeing, find out why no one cared that he was taking photos in the middle of the day at such mundane places. For now, go to the hotel and rest up, we are going to have an early start." The five team members nodded before exiting.

"Prentiss, I'm going to my grandma's house now." Luke informed her.

Emily nodded, "Of course, wouldn't expect anything less. Morgan and I are coming with you. One of the field agents has been with her since we got word but I assume you'll want to bring her in until we know what's going on." She tilted her head, asking the question that she already knew the answer to.

"If I can persuade her to, it takes a lot to convince her to sleep in a bed that is not her own." Luke sighed, running his hands over his face.

Prentiss nodded, "Okay let's go now."

"I'm coming with," Penelope piped up.

"Garcia, once you're done sending the photos and addresses to their phones you can go rest up as well," Emily instructed.

"Yeah, I already did all of that. And since you just sent the rest of the team away, I get to come with you because everyone's so concerned with my safety. So really I shouldn't be left unsupervised." Penelope gave her boss a composed grin.

Morgan raised his eyebrows at Emily who kept her face impassive, even though her eyes were communicating to her former partner that she was partially annoyed and partially intrigued by Penelope's new found assertiveness. "Okay fine, then we'll all head back to the hotel right afterward."

Penelope beamed, pleased with herself and the current situation she'd maneuvered. Emily walked by Derek, raising her eyes to him, leading the way out of the room. He followed, amused by the Penelope he knew so well, but who was still somehow surprising him. Penelope grabbed the purse she'd brought into the room with her, housing her laptop and all the other various things she carried around with her on a daily basis.

Luke had kept quiet as he'd watched her speak to Emily, carefully maintaining his composure and typical unreadable face. When the other two were out of the room he addressed her, "Why are you being such a weasel?" He finally cracked a smile, the first since they'd disembarked the plane.

She huffed, "I am not being a weasel. How rude!" Her faux annoyance was not fooling him.

"It's good that you're coming anyway, I need my abuela to see for herself that you bully me." He opened his mouth as he smiled at her, waiting for her next biting comment.

"I have been so nice, so like, uber nice. All the things I've done for you, really?" She shook her head at him.

"Sure, whatever you need to tell yourself, P." He pulled the floral bag from her shoulder, "What are there, rocks in this thing?" He slung the strap over his own shoulder, gesturing in front of him for her to lead the way.

"Maybe you need to start working out more." She said to him as she walked a pace in front of him.

"See, that's what Abuela should see for herself, right there." They strolled to the exit where Prentiss and Morgan were waiting.

"You did not actually tell your grandmother that I bully you, did you?" She was now concerned that she was about to meet a woman who would already dislike her.

Morgan and Prentiss pushed through the doors, closing the few feet to the SUV, grinning at the conversation behind them, "I just told her the truth. Obviously she's a smart lady and will come to her own conclusions."

"So she'll automatically know how amazing and mesmerizing I am? That makes sense, it's good to be prepared."

Emily tipped her head at Derek, indicating that they should take the back, designating Luke as the driver. The conversation continuing, Penelope opened the passenger's side door getting in, Luke was next to her handing her the bag he'd been carrying. "You're right, Garcia. I should have made sure that she was prepared for you. I'm sure she'll be really intrigued by your opinion of me, you'll be sure to explain why her favorite grandchild had to buy a cat figurine just to get you to call him by his real name." He shut the door as she was about to speak.

He walked around the car, opening his own door, her voice assaulting his ears before his butt even hit the seat, "I didn't make you. You did that all on your own. If bribes are the only way for you to make friends that's not my fault." He shook his head starting the car and taking off, "Don't drive how you drive." She instructed.

"How can I not drive how I drive? It's how I drive."

"No, you know how you drive. It's all," she brought her hands up and made a back and forth motion with them.

He rolled his eyes, "No, that's how you think I drive because you can never sit back, so you end up halfway off your seat trying to tell me things about the road as if I can't see."

"It feels like you can't see every time I'm in the car with you."

Derek glanced over to Emily, wondering why Penelope had been in the car so much with Alvez if she rarely went out in the field. His question being answered almost instantaneously.

"That was not my fault. You're the one that screamed at me to stop when you saw the little girl dressed up as a flower."

"She was so cute, she was going to her dance recital."

"Yeah but we didn't have to watch the whole two hour show."

"How could we not? We already spent an hour at the hospital with Phil, which was nice, but it made me a little sad too. I needed to watch little flowers dance. Don't judge me."

"I'm not judging you, I'm saying that maybe you could've calmly asked me to pull into the parking lot rather than scream at me."

"It's not my fault you were driving too fast."

He pulled into a driveway, "We're here."

"Thank goodness." She opened the door before he'd even shut off the car. He immediately opened his door, the two agents in the back hearing his muffled voice as the door shut and then the answering tone of hers.

Emily smiled at Derek, "I don't even know if there is an explanation." She shook her head, as she unbuckled. He gave a small chuckle, moving his head back and forth trying to wrap his mind around the scene he'd just taken in.

Luke walked up to the door of a two story home, Penelope hot on his heels, the two of them still throwing verbal jabs back and forth like a football. He nodded at the agent that was standing outside the home, before he pushed the door open, entering the living room while still talking to Penelope.

She was about to answer him back when a voice stopped her, "Que lindo, mi nino." The small woman coming towards them had a bright smile on her face. She grabbed Luke's face in her hands, kissing his cheeks and then holding onto his chin. "Te amo mucho."

"Hi, Abuela. Te amo." His usual bright smile held an extra element of emotion as he looked down at his grandmother. "This is Penelope Garcia." He tipped his head towards her and put his hand on her back, bringing her forward to greet her.

The woman in front of her looked her up and down, the smile on her face never faltering. "I am very pleased to meet you. My baby has told me so much about you."

Penelope moved her head back in surprise, furrowing her brow at Luke before turning back to the woman, "None of it's true."

She smiled at her, "I hope it is, you need to keep him on his toes." She gave Penelope a conspiratorial look before opening her arms. Penelope gave her a big smile and hugged her, feeling comforted by the maternal embrace.

Emily and Derek entered while Penelope was still holding onto the other woman, who was now admiring the curls in her hair before giving her the same light chin hold as she had given her grandson.

Luke introduced the newcomers, "These are Agents; Prentiss and Morgan." Luke indicated one then the other, shutting the door behind them.

His grandmother still had her hands on Penelope's arms as she nodded at them in greeting. "Hello, I'm Juanita. Nita." She gestured that they could use the nickname.

"Hello ma'am. We're sorry for the inconvenience." Emily apologized.

The small woman held up her hands, "No problem, do what you need to do." She gestured to the house before turning back to Penelope, "Come with me, I will show you how to make my special tea, it's a secret so you can't tell anybody."

"Oh I'm super good at keeping secrets." Luke laughed. Penelope turned to him narrowing her eyes. He put up his hands up, indicating he was waving the white flag.

His grandmother swatted his arm before grabbing Penelope's hand and leading her down the hall. Penelope turned around and stuck her tongue out at him before disappearing around the corner.

Emily and Derek were highly amused but kept their smiles to a minimum. "Her mailbox is right there, you saw it on your way in?" Luke was all business now, his family's safety his top priority.

Derek nodded, "Yeah the agent said that they already checked for fingerprints but got nothing."

"We should take a look outside, there were multiple views of the entrances and windows." Emily added. The three of them went to inspect the surroundings.

As they rounded the side of the house, Derek looked up, "That's the window that had a close up shot, right?" He turned to Luke for an answer.

"Yeah that's the window to my old room," he informed them. "Must've climbed this tree here to get the shot." Luke went over and put his hand on the large tree near his home. "It's easy to climb, used to sneak out or sneak someone in all the time in high school." He spoke as he lightly tapped the bottom of it with his shoe.

"Okay so this guy is doing his homework, he knows which room was yours." Derek surmised.

"We should ask if she's let any maintenance, or cable men in lately." Emily spoke.

Luke nodded, leading the way. He turned to address them before turning the doorknob to get into the house, "Uh don't mention the girls climbing in my room. I'm not sure if I'm more scared of Penelope or my abuela at this point." He nodded in contemplation, entering the house with two smirking agents behind him.

He traipsed up the stairs to his room, heading down the hall, he could already hear the laughter coming from the two women that occupied so much of his life. Rounding the corner, he smiled widely at the scene in front of him. Penelope was sitting on the edge of his bed, his abuela next to her, each holding a side of a photo album spread across their laps. "Hate to break up the party ladies, but we have work to do." He teased as he stuck his head out, glancing between the two women.

Morgan and Prentiss came in behind him, "You guys you should see these pictures, Luke had so much hair when he was born. He looks like a tiny baby gorilla!" The smile on her face wide and genuine as she examined the photos in front of her. The two of them thoroughly delighted by Penelope's comfort level in this situation.

Luke shook his head and motioned for the others to study the window to make whatever observations they saw fit. "Looks like it would be simple to take photos from that tree, direct line of sight in here, but surely the unsub knew you weren't here." Emily informed, still in pursuit of what was really happening.

"Seems like a personal taunt, they wanted to unnerve you." Derek continued, he put his hands on his hips, the pose Penelope always told him was the Superman.

Luke let his eyes roam over the scene outside as well. "But it's the only window to get a clear shot. There aren't many trees around here and otherwise the unsub would've had to get on the neighbor's roof."

"That's why he wanted this room when he turned fifteen, it was the easiest to climb out of without being seen." Nita glared at her grandson, unamused, even more than twenty years later.

Luke suddenly found the floor in front of him very amusing, as he brought his hand to the back of his head. Penelope's mouth was wide open, "You used to sneak out?"

"I was a teenager."

"You said you were a good kid."

"I was… in comparison."

Nita tsked at him but turned back to Penelope, "He was a good kid, decent grades no trouble at school, but still so restless could never stay in one place. Had to always go roaming about, chasing everything," she shook her head. "Except the girls. The girls always chased him. Poor things would climb up the tree and knock on the window. Not nice girls." She turned back to Luke who was paralyzed in embarrassment.

"Why didn't you say anything?" He asked after a few moments of silence.

"That's when I made you start helping Father Domingo at the church more, so there was less time for it to happen. I did say something to the girls' parents but then as soon as one was gone another came to take her place. It was exhausting trying to keep track." She looked back to Penelope who was unamused.

"I knew it. I told you you were that guy. Didn't I tell you that." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'm not, I wasn't. I didn't ask them to come up here." He defended, not sure why he did. Penelope shook her head at him anyway. Nita's eyes were bright as she watched her baby try to defend himself to a woman he claimed held no piece of him every time she questioned him on the phone about his work friend. "Look, we should be getting you packed up. It's getting later, and we need to get rest before we start all over again in the morning." Luke was trying to change the subject so Penelope could stop throwing daggers at him with her eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere, mijo. I'm fine right here."

"Ma, no you're not, we don't know why this is happening yet and I am not leaving you here alone."

"Fine, then you stay here." She squared her shoulders.

He took a deep breath, "We can set up a twenty-four hour detail for you tomorrow and I'll stay here then. If that's okay," he deferred to Emily who nodded, "But tonight you come with us to the hotel. Just for tonight."

Nita stared him down, she wanted to argue some more but she understood her baby was working and following orders so she nodded her assent. Penelope closed the book she'd found so enjoyable earlier and put her hand on Nita's back, "C'mon I'll help you pack some things." She stood up with her, setting the album on his bed. As she escorted Nita out of his room she brushed his shoulder in annoyance and gave him a dirty scowl.

After they'd left, Luke rolled his eyes before examining the spot where they'd just been sitting.

Emily raised her eyes and departed to wait downstairs for them. Derek clapped Luke on the back, "Good luck, Kid." He followed Emily with a smile on his face.

Luke's smile was in place as he nodded, knowing that he was going to hear about being some playboy, from Penelope. Their friendship was a close one but it was still tentative, he had been proving all along that her assumptions were wrong and she was firmly and stubbornly holding onto said assumptions as much as she could, despite the fact that she'd been letting him in. He took another scan of his childhood room for nostalgia before shutting off the light and closing the door.

* * *

A/N: For anyone wondering, my Mexican grandmother mostly raised me so I would alternate between calling her Gran/Mom and we know Luke has mentioned a feisty grandmother so it was easy to write her. Even though I assume Luke is Puerto Rican, the little Mexican ladies in my family were exactly like this, I figured it wasn't too big of a stretch. My Spanish is rusty at best but I believe I know enough for the little sayings. My great gran always spoke Spanglish just like this but she was fluent in English with only the bare hint of an accent left so it wasn't often I'd hear full Spanish. The only time you could tell she wasn't a native English speaker is when she was angry or when she would be sarcastic and mix up her grammar. So picture what you will.


	3. Chapter 3

I am going to be alternating updates between all my stories, only a couple chapters to go on 'Out'. Thanks for all the support, everyone.

* * *

The ride to the hotel was uneventful. Nita was in the back seat, in between the ladies, chatting about her day and about how she still wanted to go to church in the morning, how no animal threatening her would interrupt her faith in God. At some point it was established Luke would obviously escort her and also go to confession for not attending as regularly as he should.

At the hotel, Emily and Derek said their goodnights, Penelope did as well. They dispatched to their rooms, only for Penelope to come back out a moment later. Luke was escorting his grandma to the last door of the hallway. "Luke, you have my bag still." She moved down the corridor, past the few doors, to where he'd stopped. He was balancing three bags and a backpack.

"One minute, I have to get the key out of my pocket." The hotel key was in his front pocket, the various straps of the bags were tangled on his arms.

"Here, let me help you." Penelope reached out to grab one of the bags, only to pull a strap tighter.

"No, they're heavy, just get the key." He put one leg forward, making his pocket more accessible. She stared him down, glancing at his pocket and then to Nita, who had taken a sudden liking to the fake plant in the corner.

Penelope reached into his pocket, trying to disengage the flat card placed there. "Geez, could your pants be any tighter?" She reached forward with her fingers to hold onto a belt loop for leverage as her other hand worked out the key.

"They're not tight," he said exasperated, he hadn't thought this through, asking this woman to help him, her hands running over the front of his pants, not his brightest move. Luckily his abuela being nearby kept his libido in check.

Penelope finally got the key and turned to insert it into the door, a little buzz let her know that the doorknob would now work. She pushed it open, holding it for both Luke and Nita. She walked in as Luke dropped the bags, and Penelope found the lights. Nita scanned the room, taking in the two smaller beds, a gleam in her eyes. "No, mi nino, I need a bigger bed. I have my machine at night that helps me breathe, I need it next to me."

"Ma, I'll just pull the chair up next to the bed, you can put it there."

"No, eso no estará bien. I need it next to me, but not too close because the buzzing keeps me up but the vibrations put me to sleep. I put it under the other pillow on the bed so I don't hear it, pero, I feel it."

Luke's utter confusion as he glared at Nita, Penelope want to burst into laughter. But instead she turned to Nita, "I have a king sized bed, you can have my room, I can ask one of the girls to share," she offered.

"Oh, you are so sweet but I don't feel right making you wake any others for my sake." She put her hand across her heart somewhat dramatically, her face marred with guilt.

Luke narrowed his eyes at her, "Penelope and I can share this room Ma, it's fine."

Nita's face immediately brightened up, "That works just fineM mijo." She walked towards the door, Luke held his hand out to Penelope, she had been wide eyed since he spoke his last words. His palm was out, she scrutinized it, momentarily confused, before she put the key to what was her hotel room, in his hand. He picked up one of the bags and followed his grandmother out of the door. Penelope was still in the same spot when he returned, she hadn't moved an inch.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine, I'm fine."

"Sorry you don't get your big bed and your privacy but you shouldn't have offered, that woman is a guilt pro."

"No, no, it's fine, she should be comfortable. She doesn't get to sleep in her own bed tonight and we must respect our elders and all that jazz." She'd finally moved from the spot she'd felt glued to, grabbing her bag and entering the bathroom.

She emerged a few minutes later, pajama pants on, a t-shirt and a sweater she was holding closed on top. "It was nice earlier, why am I freezing now?"

"New York in Autumn, even if the days are okay, the nights usually get you." He looked up to see that she had minuscule shorts on, he covertly adjusted his pants before speaking again, "Ya know it might help if you weren't basically wearing underwear." His eyes wandered up her legs that somehow seemed even longer tonight than normal. Seeing the patch of skin on her upper thighs for the first time since he'd known her, despite her tendency towards shorts skirts.

She squinted at him, not sure if he was checking her out or if he was truly berating her for her choices in sleep attire. "Well, I'm not comfortable in pants and you're lucky I packed these shorts at all, I assumed I'd be on my own and I would sleep in my underwear like I normally do."

He paused as he was going through his bag to stare her down again, she had met his eyes challenging him to say something else, what, she didn't know. She had accomplished her goal of getting his attention she just wasn't sure what kind of attention it was yet. She put her hand on her hip.

"You - well, don't change your routine on my account." He smirked at her and then grabbed the stuff he'd already pulled out of his bag and walked towards the bathroom.

After the door shut she took a calming breath, her plan to get him a little worked up, backfiring as soon as she saw his smoldering look. She huffed and shook it off. She began pulling out the covers on the bed, hating how they were always so tightly tucked in, she always felt too confined in them. She fluffed the pillows and pulled out her stuffed panda bear she'd brought with her for comfort, setting him in the middle of the bed.

She heard the bathroom door open and the loud fan/light switch go off. "Can I come to church with you in the morning?"

He'd paused his actions, he'd been unfolding the covers on his bed just as she had done minutes ago, "You want to go to church?"

"I want to hang out with Nita, I like her." She stated simply.

He smirked at her back, she was still walking around her bed, pulling at the sheet that was tucked under the mattress. "Okay, fine by me, you know mass is in less than six hours, right?"

"Yes, I pay attention." She rolled her eyes at him as she finally got into bed, pulling the sweater over her tighter as she slid into the cool sheets.

He smiled at her and reached to turn off the light before getting in his own bed, the city lights shining in through the window. She turned her back to him watching the flickering and flashing, smiling at the city she found fascinating but too hostile for her.

"You want me to shut the curtains? It's pretty now but when the sun comes up it won't feel that way."

"We have to get up before the sun comes up, don't we?"

"Right around there I guess," he agreed.

"It's fine." He nodded at her answer as he settled back into the sheets. He felt wide awake despite the full events of the day. "Hey Luke," her voice was suddenly small and shy.

"Yes, Penelope."

"Exactly, how many girlfriends did you have in high school?"

He shut his eyes momentarily, thinking he should proceed with caution, even though he was suppressing the reason why he felt that way, "Not many. Just because girls tried to climb in my room doesn't mean I dated all of them."

"Well you don't have to date in order to-"

"No, you don't. But I was never like that, Penelope. I was a little sentimental at least, and shy too, I was not as interested in girls as I was in everything else. I started training for the Army at sixteen, I already knew what I was going to do. I was focused, sports and the church stuff, took a lot of my time."

"Oh."

"Penelope, look at me." He waited for her to turn in her bed and settle herself on her side again. "Don't start thinking I'm that douchey guy again, you know way too much about me to go back now."

"Yeah, I guess I'm just waiting for the moment when I discover you're not actually real."

He squinted at her, "Why wouldn't I be real?"

"I know nice guys exist but they rarely look like you." She shrugged picking at the invisible lint on the bed.

He could see her face, partially lit from the light seeping in from the busy streets outside. "You remember how we went to that, bring your dog to the movies, thing?"

She raised her head, squinting at the non-sequitur, but recalling how she'd told him about the event held at the park, where they would screen old movies and you could bring blankets and make a picnic out of it. "Obviously, it was so much fun. Roxy enjoys the old black and whites."

His goofy smile returned as her tone of voice rose at the recollection of the night. "I thought it was going to be weird and I wondered why a dog would want to sit in a park and not run around. But I thought I should try something different, I don't do that too much."

"Experiences are life."

"Yeah and as you know life wasn't always so important to me." He heard her take a deep breath but he also knew that she already heard him talk about this a few times, and she was very understanding about what Phil was going through.

"I wish - I wish you never had to go through that. I'm so glad that you-you made it here." Her voice was small.

He smiled at her as she finally made eye contact, not fidgeting anymore. "You should listen to me when I say you don't have to be scared that I'm not who I say I am. I don't have the luxury of believing I can pretend to be something else." He held her eyes in his, not letting her look away.

She suddenly felt as if she was miles apart from him, the space in between them a void that was much scarier than anything she'd ever felt. She pushed the covers down mindlessly, closing the space in between the two beds, pulling the covers back from his body and getting in his bed, laying on her side, facing him.

He watched her actions, but he didn't have enough time to think about them before he could feel her right next to him. As she was furrowing down into the blankets, tucking her head underneath his chin, he brought his arm behind her. He put his hand to her hair, gripping the curls that had lost their form, running his thumb over her cheek. He rubbed his chin across the top of her head much like a cat trying to show affection.

Her eyes were on his chest but she kept her hands curled between their bodies. "Don't let go of me tonight, okay? I want to know we're both still here." She whispered the words onto his chest creating a warm sensation on his body.

"I won't." He rested his head on the pillow his eyes looking out of the window at the lights that he could've sworn brought them closer together. As soon as her breathing tapered off he let the night air, scented like the woman who had quickly become the person he turned to, consume him, shutting his eyes and feeling the sweet release of exhaustion take over.

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A/N: As always, you all reading and enjoying this makes it easier to dedicate free time to this venture, much thanks to all of you.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: As always thank you so much for favs, follows, and reviews it will never get old knowing that people actually care about what I put effort into.

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An alarm startled her awake, Penelope sat up straight, her heart beating fast. Giving it a few moments, she blinked and became aware of the loud sound coming from beside her. She hit the ten minute snooze button, and gazed down at the man sleeping next to her, his eyes barely open as he observed her. "Scared you?"

"Why is your alarm so loud?" she admonished him.

He closed his eyes, giving a little yawn before a small smile appeared on his face, "Can't be late for church." Luke silently chuckled but let his eyes close again.

She breathed deeply, her heart rhythm balancing out again. "Okay, I'll get showered, you get ten more minutes of sleep." She pushed the covers off of her, then placed them back on him almost as if she was tucking him in.

She went to the bathroom cursing that alarm, if it hadn't scared her so much, she could've woken up in his arms and sleepily, and of course accidentally on purpose, glued herself to his chest.

His eyes were still closed but he brought her pillow closer to his body, wishing she wasn't so jumpy so he could've kept her there for the duration of the snooze button so he could, accidentally on purpose, brush against her chest. He let that thought go out of his head as he drifted back to sleep.

When the alarm went off again he sat up and hit the off button, he heard the shower still going as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He studied to the vacant spot next to him, now cold from her absence, he swallowed wondering what was happening between them. They meant something to each other but at the same time Penelope was affectionate with everyone. Even if they were attracted to each other, even if they had things in common, dating your coworker or even a friend was risky business. He wasn't even sure if that's what either of them needed. He'd always done well without a relationship, never believing he really needed one, and thinking about losing his friend in the process seemed too much to risk. He shook his head making the thoughts jumble and scatter so that he wasn't able to make sense of them anyway.

Penelope appeared as he was digging his nicest button up out of his bag. "We need to leave soon."

"I'm not the one that's been hogging the bathroom," he ribbed.

"Okay, but you better hurry up, if Nita gets mad, I'm telling her it was your fault." He ignored her jibe despite the beam of satisfaction on her face.

Quicker than she'd ever imagined, he came out of the bathroom, everything but his hair, in perfect condition. As he attempted to dry it and get it into place, he saw her staring down at her phone, seemingly bored from just a few minutes alone. "Aren't you going to yell at me some more?"

Glancing at him, she saw his not quite perfect hair, she smirked at the curls that were forming. "No, you've been sufficient." She eyed him from underneath her eyelashes, taking in the nicer dress pants and shirt, finding it very difficult to find something wrong with him in that moment.

He had an embarrassed smile as he went to the mirror, working on his hair for a couple minutes. "Okay Chica, she likes to leave at five forty sharp, she has a routine and no one gets between her and her lord and savior."

The sparkle in her eyes showed that she wanted to laugh at his joke but she walked past him towards the door, opening it before speaking, "I'm going to tell her you said that." She opened the door and he followed her through.

"Why do you think it would be so much fun to get me in trouble?" The door closed behind him, and he decided to revert to one of their games, "Don't." He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Sure, whatever you say sir." She had lowered her voice but she hadn't changed her casual tone, the way she normally would have. They were facing each other, not yet moving, when a voice brought them into reality.

"Morning." Derek's eyes were wide, taking in the fact that these two people just came out of the same hotel room, as he stood with the rest of the team in the hallway.

Penelope pushed off on one foot, getting to her team with a few strides. "Morning, is Nita ready yet?"

Reid had his head tipped towards her, "Uh, we thought she was with Luke, so, no." His intonation making the last word sound like a question.

Luke nodded at the group who all had questions in their eyes. He ignored their gazes and knocked on what they all had been assuming was Penelope's door, "Ma, are you almost ready?"

The group was glancing between Penelope and Luke. Luke's back was to them but Penelope was facing them, holding her purse with both hands hanging in front of her, she was casually watching Luke knock. She glanced over to the others, noticing for the first time that they were all watching her. "What?" She squinted at them, unsure what was so entertaining about her. She peeked down at herself, "It's a nicer dress for church," she explained.

Derek turned to the rest of the group, astonished that she was truly that obtuse in the moment. Matt's eyes widened, trying to hold back a giggle, Tara doing much the same. JJ was still staring at Penelope with a gleam in her eye. Rossi's eyebrow was raised at Prentiss, who felt speechless. Reid was squinting at Penelope as if she was a puzzle he was trying to figure out. She glanced from face to face, "What?" she asked again louder, confusion on her face.

The silence made it easy to hear rustling on the other side of the door, Luke stepped back in anticipation of his abuela coming forth. He observed the group, he could read their faces but had been hoping they would've been on their way already and not have to deal with it. "There are two beds." He spoke as casual as if he was telling them how he liked his coffee.

Penelope's face scrunched up as the information processed through her brain, then a look of understanding came over her. Before she could reprehend them for their thought process, Rossi spoke, "Uh huh, I have two cars but I only use one at a time." The others silently chuckled, biting their lips or averting their eyes to the carpet as they attempted to contain themselves. Luke was carefully trying to keep an impassive face even though his eyes were laughing. Penelope's eyes were narrowing in irritation, she was ready to give one of her signature admonishments.

Nita's door opened, "Good morning, everyone." They all gave simple respectful greetings. Luke introduced the other team members, before deferring to Emily, "We want you to go about your day as usual, a few us may be following your routine in order to gather information. Alvez, Garcia, after you're done, join Tara and Spencer at the field office." Orders given, she was done.

"Penelope." Nita reached her hand out to her, she took it and walked with her to make their way out. Penelope turned to give one last glare at the group, before making conversation with the woman who was very pleased with Penelope's choice to come to church with her. Luke once again ignored his teammates with a pleasant smile on his face. He followed the two women that were already half way down the hall. The others exchanged a few more looks before following suit.

….

Church was as boring as Penelope had remembered it being, except for the part afterward where she watched a red-faced Luke approach the priest to request time for his overdue confession, as Nita watched with a scowl on her face. She waited with Nita as she spoke to her friends, bragging about her baby being home and how well he was doing. A few times she started whispering in Spanish, Penelope would pick a word up here or there but she was more amused by the fact that Nita would whisper, as if she wasn't already in the dark about her words.

A beautiful woman with long dark hair, a dress too short for any church service she had been to, and heels taller than her own, came up to Nita next. She stepped up to hug her and Nita turned into Penelope, grasping her hand, pretending not to see the woman's actions. The woman stepped back with a tight smile. "Hello Nita, I haven't seen you in awhile."

"Yes, that is what happens when you only come to church when you are single." Nita tilted her head at the girl in pity. "And it's Mrs. Alvez, respect goes a long way, dear."

She gave her another tight smile, before noticing Penelope, who beamed at her in her typical happy way, waiting to meet another new person, with glee. The woman squinted at her before ignoring her altogether. "I saw Luke, is he home visiting?"

"Yes, he came home to visit, para presentarme a su novia." Nita's smile stayed the same but the sparkle in her eye made Penelope curious.

"Oh, and where is she?"

"You were never good at taking a hint were you, dear?"

The rude woman glared at Penelope and scoffed. Penelope's eyes widened at the blatant disrespect, unsure how anyone could be so rude, especially to someone whose name they haven't even heard yet. She peered over the shorter woman's shoulder, at Luke who was making his way to the three of them.

"Abuela, are you ready to go?" He didn't notice the woman that had turned and threw her long hair over her shoulder.

She cut off Nita before she could speak, "Aren't you going to say hi to me, it's been so long." She smiled coquettishly at him.

He squinted at the woman with her hand now on her jutted hip, "Hi Suzanna, nice to see you." It was a curt greeting but a polite smile was on his face as he gave it.

"Ready?" he addressed Penelope this time.

She nodded, Nita grabbed her hand, giving it to Luke, "Mijo, help her down the steps, her heels are so high, don't want her to roll her ankle." Luke nodded at his grandmother, taking Penelope's hand as she silently observed the interactions. She followed his lead out of the double doors, looking back briefly to see Nita give the other woman another tight smile before catching the priest's attention.

As they got to the bottom of the steps, Penelope pulled her hand out of Luke's grasp, having followed Nita's instructions herself, but definitely not continuing as soon as she was on the sidewalk. "What was that?" She asked in one of the most straightforward tones he'd ever heard from her.

He blinked, taking a deep breath, readying himself for the aftermath, "Remember when I said I only dated a couple of girls?" He waited for Penelope to acknowledge his words which she did when she let her eyes focus in on him. "That was one of them."

Penelope's shoulders dropped, she had been holding them up tensely ever since the woman had scoffed at her. "The tiny supermodel is your ex-girlfriend?" The ridicule in her voice made him wince.

"She's actually a secretary of some sort." He knew those were the wrong words even as he spoke them but he didn't know what else he was supposed to say to that. Penelope's disgust was apparent on her face.

Morgan, Prentiss, and Rossi were coming towards them. They waited silently at the foot of the steps for Nita who was still speaking to the priest near the large open double doors. As they approached, they sensed the tension, and slowly took the steps towards them, "Everything okay, Kitten?" Rossi questioned.

Penelope blinked at Luke, finally taking her eyes off of him, turning to Rossi. "Yes, just waiting for Nita to be done." Her normally cheery demeanor was notably reserved.

"We watched everyone leave from the corner over there. The bench is most likely where the unsub was sitting when he took the pictures." Prentiss explained.

Morgan was staring Penelope down, but she was avoiding eye contact with anyone, instead choosing to stare across the busy New York street until she heard a voice call from behind her. She tensed up as she heard it, "Bye Luca. I'll see you soon."

Luke didn't turn around, instead, he put his hand to his forehead, before bringing it to the back of his neck and adjusting his stance.

Emily's eyes bugged out as she watched the woman, who had just descended the steps, scowl at Penelope's back. Rossi and Derek both glared at her with distaste before turning to exchange glances with Luke, who was silently begging for help. Penelope had her purse clasped tightly in her hands, lips pursed as she continued her stare.

"Well, I do not like her," Derek commented.

"Really? Luke enjoyed her." Penelope gave Derek a saccharine smile.

"Penelope, I dated her twenty years ago. I can't even remember liking her."

"Yes the supermodel must've been a stretch to like." She rolled her eyes before turning to Emily, "Apparently she also moonlights as a secretary."

Luke's annoyed face was the most expressive either Rossi or Prentiss had ever seen. Nita said goodbye to the priest and Luke saw her descending the stairs, clasping the railing, he walked up to meet her and escort her the rest of the way down.

The three agents watched Penelope's annoyed face as she moved her hand to her hip, "I tried to be nice to her, she wasn't nice to me." She explained her catty behavior, which was most unlike her. The three agents exchanged glances but said nothing as they waited for the other two people to join them.

They stayed silent as the two people they were waiting for joined them, "Can I go home now?" Nita asked as soon as she'd seen them.

"Yes ma'am, you can. Agent Simpson will escort you home," Emily indicated a man standing near an SUV in front of the church, "Although I do still prefer that you stay with us, we have set up a protection detail if you so choose."

"I want to stay at my own house." She smiled at her.

"I'll stay with you tonight, Abuela. But if you need to go somewhere today, you have to let the agent drive you." Luke's concerned tone made Penelope waver in her anger at him.

"Penelope will stay with us too." Nita stated, grabbing her hand again.

"She has a room already, Ma."

"I didn't ask you if she had a room, I said that she would stay with me. You did not hear me?" She turned from her grandson to Prentiss, whom she had deduced was the one to ask, "Can she, or does she have to stay there?"

Prentiss' mouth opened, unsure what to say before shaking her head to clear it, "I guess she can, if there is an agent outside and Alvez inside, I don't think either of you should be in any danger."

"Good. I'll see you tonight." Nita kissed Penelope on the cheek before getting into the waiting vehicle.

After she was safely in, Emily spoke again, "We're going to head to the power company, even though your grandmother didn't let anyone in the house recently, the neighbors said there were some workmen out this month, we're going to check it out, just in case. Garcia, check and see if any of the footage from these cameras is still available from two weeks ago." She pointed to some visible cameras above in the street, "Lewis and Reid are waiting for you two." Prentiss instructed them before they dispersed.

Penelope was about to follow Luke to their SUV when Derek grabbed her hand, "Sweetness, are you alright?"

"Fine, Derek."

"Hey, hey, look at me," he put his hands on the sides of her face so she was forced to look at him. "Did anything happen in there that Alvez did to upset you?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, knowing exactly where he was going with this line of questioning. "No. _He_ didn't."

"Right, so just remember that. Right now you're holding his high school girlfriend's attitude against him for no other reason than you feel possessive."

"Wha - I do not - I am not possessive." She tried to straighten up her shoulders and look him directly in the eye.

He let go of her face with a chuckle, "Well if I were a betting man, I'd say he belongs to you anyway." She let her shoulders fall again, softening at his words. He tapped her nose lightly with his finger, before grinning at her and following Rossi to their car. Penelope spun around, knowing that Luke pulled the vehicle up to the curb for her, she got in and they made their way to the office in a very abnormal silence.

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A/N: What Nita says at church is he came to introduce me to his girlfriend. Also, my shoulder is still cranky so if I haven't gotten back to you on a PM or review that's why. Thanks, all.


	5. Chapter 5

I'm behind on updating my stories, I know. I'm trying to get back into a routine after travelling. Thanks for sticking around and for the feedback, follows, and favs.

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Penelope was sitting in the IT room, tapping her fluffy pencil on the desk, watching footage that she brought up from the local grocery store's system. They had asked Nita if she remembered going to the park, market, the center, but over two weeks she had been to those places multiple times and it was hard for her to recall the times and days that weren't in her normal schedule.

Luke walked in, "Hey Garcia, were you able to figure out which one of the days she went to the bakery yet?"

"No, no, she is so hard to track. Your grandmother should be an agent! She only uses cash, never turns on her cell phone, her car is too old to have GPS, there's no way to trace her whereabouts." Penelope spoke to him in a frustrated tone but it wasn't directed at him.

He walked the few steps to her, standing behind her, rubbing her shoulders. "Hey, it's okay we'll figure it out."

"Shouldn't I be the one comforting you right now and giving you a back rub?"

His eyes gleamed at her words, "That's not how family works, we are always there for each other and it always goes both ways. Although, I'll take the back rub."

She smirked, but her shoulders relaxed as she finally felt enough oxygen enter her body from the first deep breath she'd taken since arriving back at the office. "Why does Nita want me to stay tonight?" She was still watching the screen in front of her as his hands worked.

His eyes studied the floor, "I think she likes you and she wants to spend time with you too, just like you said."

"That's nice. I wish she was my grandma, she's amazing."

Luke peered at the screen over her shoulders, a proud smile on his face, "Yes, she is." His eyes were now observing the fast moving video that she'd been watching. "Hey Hotshot, we don't know who the unsub is, but we do know what my abuela looks like, did you run her face and then see if there is any overlap?"

Penelope straightened up, her face contorting in rage and frustration, "No, no I didn't. Oh my God! Why didn't I just do that?" She scooted her chair close to the desk. "Why didn't you tell me that before?" She scoffed at him as she typed furiously, pulling up footage from all the various places the photos were taken.

He stopped rubbing her shoulders but kept his hand on the back of her chair, finding humor in her reprimand as he usually did. He watched the screen with her, waiting for whatever fancy system thing she did to give results.

She was holding her breath, hoping beyond hope that she would get something worthwhile. When the system stopped, she had zero results for anybody that showed up multiple times in the footage she'd retrieved. However, she did get a few times and days that the pictures were taken since the program recognized Nita. She glared at the stills on the screen, seeing Nita's sweet face, wondering who on earth could do this to such an innocent lady. She took the times from the stills, and the places they were taken, at least now they could narrow down the days that Nita was followed and that was something. As she printed the info, she turned to him, "I'm sorry, Luke. There's no overlap, just none."

He could tell she was ready to let tears fall, he swiveled her chair around and leaned over her, putting his hands on the armrest, "Garcia, this is good, this is something. More than what we had, okay?"

She slowly nodded, even though she didn't really feel like she'd done enough. "Yeah," she whispered.

He breathed deeply, giving her a look of concern as her eyes fell to her lap, he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Penelope, you're the reason that I can keep doing this without feeling like it's all my fault, so please don't take that burden on for me."

She nodded, with his head above hers, her hair brushed his chin as she did so. "Okay, let's get these to Spencer he'll have some geographical whosawhasit in no time." She sniffled attempting to stop her tears.

He grabbed the papers from the printer, giving her one last nod before exiting.

….

Spencer was standing in front of the board that had the various pictures of Nita up, now with times and days he'd written underneath some of them from the search Penelope had just done.

Luke was observing him work from a chair, fascinated by Spencer's thought process but unnerved by his grandmother's picture being up on a victim board.

"You know what doesn't make sense," Reid spun around, looking at the two agents at the table, "Nita doesn't usually go to the market on Tuesday, she said it was a fluke because she'd volunteered at the church for the Halloween candy giveaway, so she had to go a different day."

Tara squinted at him, "Right, so the unsub photographed her at the store on a different day," she stated confused.

"Correct, but think about it, if he was following her, then he would've had pictures from the church function as well as the Dia De Los Muertos events at the community center she went to, but the market wasn't planned. Most of these pictures are from the places she visits regularly, church on a Sunday at six, it's almost as if he knew her routine before hand."

"So that means he missed some places simply because he thought she'd be somewhere else... okay, but he'd have to follow her in the first place to know her routine." Luke sort of got where Spencer was going with this but he wanted clarification.

"Right, and if he did that, we'd have photos from everything she did in one week, even one day, but that's not what happened," Spence pushed.

"Which means he wasn't just following her, he already knew where she would go." Tara was catching on.

"I think so, because otherwise he would've had pictures of her going into the market and coming out like the first time but the second time he only had pictures of her as she was already down the block." Spencer pointed at a couple of the photos up on the board.

"So he probably only caught the tail end because he thought she was somewhere else." Tara agreed.

"Which means that whomever took the pictures was told in advance where to be in the first place, which means that someone that knows my abuela could be involved."

"I think so." Reid said somberly, his voice less excited, now that they knew what this could mean.

Luke hit the intercom button, "Garcia, can you patch in the rest of the team?"

"Sure, just a sec." She hit a couple buttons ,getting the other two groups on the line. "We're all here."

"We think that my grandmother's schedule was told to the unsub by someone she knows."

JJ was in a car with Simmons, he was driving as she spoke, "Why is that?"

"Based on the timing and disruptions to her normal routine, it appears that this wasn't someone who was following her but rather was already waiting where he expected her to be. It would be easier for him to study where he could take photos without being seen." Reid stated

"Which might be why there aren't any overlaps in the surveillance of the same faces." Garcia suggested as she heard the new theory.

"So that means we've got to figure out who knows your grandmother well enough to know all of this." Rossi interjected from his place in the backseat of the SUV driven by Morgan.

"Might not be as simple as that, a lot of people would know where she goes, she's stuck in her ways. Most of her friends are the same way, she meets them at the same time at the park, the center, it's not a secret." Luke told them.

"We'll ask her anyway, maybe we can narrow it down at least." Prentiss tried to hope for the best.

"Yeah, and we learned nothing from the utility company, the houses they worked on were planned in advance and the people sent out were different each time." Derek added.

"There is one thing about this though, if someone that knew your grandmother helped the unsub, what does that mean about the photos of Hotch and Blake?" Tara posed the question to the team while glancing to Luke and Reid.

"Wa-wait, you mean this could be two completely different unsubs?" Penelope's voice trembled.

"Let's hope not." Emily said resigned. "We're on our way back."

Everyone nodded, despite being on the phone, Garcia disconnected them all. Each different group of people were glancing at each other, trying to keep their imaginations in check.

….

Derek brought Penelope lunch, he sat down on her desk that wasn't really her desk, like he always had. "What's this frown about?" He ran his fingers lightly across her cheek.

She gave him a sad smile, "I think I could be doing better, I almost didn't do the simplest thing this morning. My brain was somewhere else." She opened the wrap and dumped out the side of fries he'd also brought for her, knowing they were her favorite.

"Look Baby, we're all a little shook up. We don't know what this means and we all know how scary it is to have our loved ones in danger. We signed up for this, they didn't."

"Derek, I know. I just don't want to be the reason that this all goes wonky. I couldn't bare it if I was."

"Hey, hey, where's my confident girl at? You're a genius and you always pull through for us when we need you."

"I know, I was distracted after this morning and that," she paused trying to find something nice to say but she could only find generic facts instead, "woman threw me off this morning. It won't happen again."

"You know that Luke didn't have any emotion for her except maybe annoyance, right?" He raised his eyebrows, containing a small smile.

"I know, I know. I just don't like anyone messing with my family, and she was trying to, she was disrespectful to Nita." She lowered her eyes, concentrating on the dollop of ketchup she'd placed near her fries.

Derek was scrutinizing her, silently debating if he should push her along and call her on what she wasn't saying, his thoughts were interrupted when Luke walked in. Luke tilted his chin, silently asking if Penelope was okay, since she was finding something very interesting about her food, Derek just gave him a shrug. So Luke spoke, "I just came to make sure you got lunch but looks like you did. I'm going to go get something with Reid."

His voice alerted Penelope that he was there and she looked up at the doorway, "Oh yeah, Derek got me something." Her voice was still small.

"Well, good. We'll be back soon, text me if you need something." He was about to leave but she barely nodded as she grabbed another fry, slowly swirling it in the ketchup. He narrowed his eyes at her, "Hey Hotshot, we already went over this, there's nothing more you can do right now and what you did find may have helped us figure something really important out. I'm not going to put up with you pouting." He had a joking tone to his voice but he still meant what he said.

She smiled at him, a little less sad now, "I know, I was all better until I started thinking about there being more than one of these guys out there."

He took a few steps forward, glancing at Derek one more time, with an understanding grin, "I was going to wait until there was something either really wrong or really right but you're forcing my hand, woman." Luke pulled a small bouncy ball from his pocket, setting it on the table where her food was.

Her eyes found the ball and she lit up as she picked it up to inspect it. It had unicorns all over it and she was quite pleased about that. "Thank you." She was her normal cheery self in seconds.

"Really? I offer words of wisdom and you get excited over a quarter machine prize?" Derek playfully joked with her.

"But they're… unicorns," she explained.

Both Derek and Luke laughed, the latter kissing her on her forehead before stealing a fry and walking out of the room.

Derek watched the affectionate moment with interest and he registered Penelope's glee at her newly acquired toy. "Girl, you are just…you know what, I don't even have words for you anymore."

He got up, kissing her forehead as well, noticing how she gave him a smile but how his affection didn't make her eyes dilate the same way they had when Luke had done the same thing. He gave a lighthearted scoff at his observation before leaving her to finish her lunch in peace.


	6. Chapter 6

Around nine that night, Luke walked up to his grandmother's house, stopping at the agent at the front door. "You're here until two?"

The agent nodded, "Yes, I'm Mannon, then it's Simpson after me. If you don't see me here, I'll be doing a round of the block every hour and then might sit in the car to warm up." He nodded to the SUV right in front of the house.

Luke nodded at the man before looking back to Penelope, who was sitting in the car, on the phone with Derek. He saw her hang up and close the door, her purse hanging on one arm as she carefully navigated the cracked sidewalk in her, too high heels, that she'd been wearing since church. Both of her other bags were in his hand and his backpack over his shoulder. She walked up the steps, arms out in front of her for balance. He shook his head at her, "Don't you ever want to wear sneakers, aren't your feet screaming at you?"

"No, the only one getting screamed at is gonna be you." She put a finger into his chest, pushing the purse up her arm, and walked right into his childhood home as if it was something she did everyday.

Nita came around the corner, "Mija, are you cold? You look cold. Are you hungry? Come eat." She didn't wait for either answer as she disappeared back around the corner, knowing that she would be followed. Penelope turned around and shoved her purse into Luke's hand and walked down the hall, her feet _were_ screaming at her but she was not going to take them off now, in case he thought he was actually right. He shook his head at her and took the bags upstairs.

When he came back down, Penelope was laughing with Nita, their backs were to him as they were shaping dough. Nita reached over, "Here, now pinch like this." She showed her with her fingers. Penelope copied her movements. "Yes, very good, you're a natural."

"Thanks, this is so much fun!" Penelope was smiling wildly at her.

Luke stared at her face, only seeing the side of it from his spot at the kitchen entrance. He leaned on the door jamb tilting his head as he watched her hands move. His eyes focused in on her smile as she tried to form the dough as she'd been shown.

Nita had turned her head, seeing her ninito watching with such intensity. She kept her hands working in front of her but she contemplated him with a gleam in her eye, knowing that he most certainly saw this smart, bright, beautiful woman as so much more than what he'd try to pretend he had. She shook her head, she'd already known he felt something for this wonderful girl but now she knew she had to make sure that he saw it for himself, otherwise she never would forgive herself. She didn't get to her age without a few regrets, and she didn't want her baby to ever feel that way. "Mijo, did you give la belleza your room?" she brought him out of his trance.

Penelope turned to look at him as he pushed off the door jamb, and sat at the small kitchen table a few feet away, "I put her bags in the guest room, it's better than my room."

"Si, pero, it's cold in there. That vent doesn't work as well. If you want your room, fine, but bring her extra blankets."

He nodded at the instruction, "Do I get to eat or just watch?"

"Rude!" Penelope smirked at him.

"Hey, I'm hungry and Abuela's cooking is the best in the world."

"Well, I won't argue with you there." She winked at him, his goofy smile coming back to her, their eyes lingered on each other for a few moments before she set the formed dough down on the baking sheet in front of her.

"Go get the vacuum and do the stairs for me, will you? I haven't been able to, the weather change has made my joints so creaky. We'll be done when you are." Nita put the baking sheets in the oven and stirred the pot on the stove. Luke nodded and retreated, Penelope heard a closet door open and then the buzz of a vacuum. "Penelope, you work as much as my Luke, no?"

"Unfortunately, we sort of have to." She rinsed her hands in the sink before she took a seat at the table Luke had just vacated.

Nita nodded, stirring the pot one more time before sitting next to her, "I hope the two of you can make some time for each other."

Penelope turned her head towards her, a little confused, "Why do you say that?"

"I just think that friends as good as you are, should make time to see each other often, not just at work. I know you have to see some very bad things, and Luke has been happier since he's had you as a friend."

"He has?"

"Yes, I've never heard him so excited, so funny, as he is with you."

"Well that's - I'm - yeah, I guess I have fun with him too." She smiled at the table, "Just don't tell him."

"Your boyfriend though, he must be jealous you spend so much time with a good looking boy like my Luke."

"I don't have a boyfriend anymore."

"No?"

"We broke up awhile ago, around when Luke started working with us, we were really busy, we had extra work on top of our original case load, which is why Luke was there in the first place, I just never had the time. It fizzled out."

"Oh, wonderful girl like you alone is a tragedy."

She smiled at her, "Thank you but it's usually that way. I'm used to it."

"You don't want to share your life with someone?"

"Oh no, I do. I think I do, just the right someone and if not, then I'll be happy with the friends I have."

"You are just fine on your own, same as my baby, he always is too. I just hope you keep yourself open just in case the right one comes along."

"I'll try."

"My Luke, he'd be lucky to have someone like you."

Penelope giggled, "I don't think he thinks that."

Nita looked taken aback, "Why not?"

"We are always arguing, he probably enjoys when he gets a break from me."

"No, I think he doesn't like any breaks from you. Do you like them from him?"

"I guess it's never boring when we're together."

"He's never had the practice with the relationships, I just hope you might help him if he needs advice."

"He's never mentioned any girls to me."

The vacuum shut off and Nita got up to make the final preparations for the food. "I think maybe you should ask him, he might have a girl in mind but he's too shy. He'd probably like to hear a woman's point of view."

Penelope furrowed her brow, and squinted at the table, unsure. She liked him, but despite what the others thought, nothing beyond platonic had happened. If he wanted it to, which she was sure he'd never even thought about, he must've known she found him attractive and wouldn't object. He didn't reciprocate her feelings, but she assumed he gave her friendship in place of what else he didn't want to.

She bit her lip, wondering who in the hell he could like, Emily and JJ were both in relationships. Tara seemed to date here and there, and they definitely didn't have chemistry. She couldn't imagine he met girls anywhere else, there was no time and he rarely went out. She shook her head, Nita was right, she'd have to ask him, after all, the only woman she knew about was the one she saw today, who he'd apparently not kissed since he was a teenager.

Luke appeared in the doorway, bringing her out of her thoughts, "All done Ma, can I eat now?" he laughed.

Nita smiled at him and got out the plates, setting them on the table. She went back to turn off all the knobs on the stove and to open the oven door to keep the room warm and toasty. Luke picked up the empty plates and walked to the stove, he filled one with food and he hissed as he picked up the now freshly made pan de agua while it was still piping hot off of the baking sheet. He slid the plate over to Penelope. Nita raised her eyes at his actions, she always had watched him push his cousins and friends out of the way to get to the food first, especially at the holidays, so he could get the best seat in living room. She knew he was a gentleman when he needed to be, but that would at most, consist of letting Penelope fill her plate first. It would never mean he served her.

He opened the fridge, "You want water or do you want to try the strawberry juice?" He asked Penelope as she checked her phone, a text from Emily coming through, otherwise she wouldn't have been so rude.

She set her phone down, having quickly replied to a logistical question, "Umm can I have both?" she asked sweetly.

He smiled at her and set a water bottle on the table before heading to the cabinet to get a glass for her juice. Nita had made a small plate for herself and sat down while he was busy looking after Penelope. She began to eat, so Penelope joined in. "Mijo, has aprendido a tratar a una bella dama tan bien, afortunadamente ella haría lo mismo por ti."

He swiveled around, juice in hand, studying his grandmother, looking her up and down, while she averted her eyes. She happily stuck her fork in her mouth, smiling at Penelope who was perfectly oblivious. "I should try to get better at my Spanish, right? I already missed out on half of what you said at the church. I should ask Emily to tutor me."

"Luke can teach you, what a fun thing to do together, and you should keep up with your Spanish too, mijo. If you decide to have children, they should learn both." She smiled innocently at him as she tore her bread in half.

Luke was filling his plate now, but he glanced over to her, once again trying to figure her out, "Ma, I have to remember my Spanish anyway, the Bureau likes it when you're, at least, bilingual."

"Okay, okay." Nita held her fork up, "I was just thinking out loud, pero that means you should help Penelope so she can be bilingual too."

"Oh no, you want me to learn from this guy?" She jerked her thumb towards him as he took the other seat at the table, "Plus, I do know French."

"I would be a great teacher, you're the one that would be too stubborn to teach." He reached for the hot sauce in the middle of the table.

Penelope grabbed it from his hand, putting some on her food first before he snatched it back from her with a playful sneer. "As if, I am great student."

"We'll see about that." His eyes were narrowed at her, when she looked at him she noticed something behind his gaze, something almost indecent. She studied his face from top to bottom, trying to discern the message there but she couldn't come up with an explanation that wasn't improper and she knew that wasn't it.

She turned away, glancing at Nita, "I've had this bread before but it was always in a loaf, not small like this."

Nita sighed, seeing that this was going to be harder than she thought. "Si, pero when I'm short on time, I make the small versions, almost like rolls, it's quick."

Penelope nodded at her and the three of them continued the conversation until they were done with their late dinner before she retreated to bed, leaving the two stubborn people in her kitchen, hoping one of them would get out of their own way.

"I would be a great teacher." Luke told her as he put the last dishes in the dishwasher while Penelope wiped down the counter.

"Are you kidding me? I bet you we wouldn't even get to conjugating verbs before we were both dead."

"Hey, you're the one with the anger issues, not me," he teased.

"I am never angry, I am always bright and perky." She let her hip rest on the counter and crossed her arms.

He turned to face her, mimicking her position, "Oh, I'm sorry, I guess I was just thrown off by all the times you were angry at me." He let his eyes roam her body, up and down, he was smirking and yet somehow giving her a disbelieving look.

"Well I," she had the decency to look apologetic, absentmindedly swiping the counter with the rag as she let her eyes fall to her moving hand, "I didn't really mean it." She peered up at him over her glasses.

His smile widened, watching her shy face. She looked at him so innocently, he loved when she did that, she seemed so pure. He inched closer to her, completely oblivious that he was gravitating towards her, he reached out and brought her chin up with his fingertips, "Hey, I wouldn't have had it any other way, you know that right?" He let his thumb run over her cheek.

She was trying to concentrate on his soothing words but he was so close to her that she was having a hard time comprehending. "Me either." She had the urge to lean up and kiss him so she bit her lip to remind her that he wasn't hers to kiss.

His eyes searched her face, he was looking for something to tell him that this was a good idea, he watched her bite her lip and his mind wandered to all the times he had thought very hard about her mouth. He remembered one time when she had come to his house to help him set up his new laptop, she called him clueless, as she concentrated on the screen in front of her, biting her lip the same way. He remembered wanting to pull her out of his desk chair and push her against a wall, taking the taste of her lips, that he wanted so badly. He wanted to know exactly what her mouth felt like running over his body, but he hadn't done it because he knew that would make things complicated, much like if he decided to do that now. He rubbed her cheek one more time with his thumb before stepping away, "You ready for bed?" He asked as he took the towel from her and tossed it towards the sink.

She whirled around, grabbing her phone from the table behind her, trying to hide the utter disappointment in her face, that she couldn't bare for him to see. "Yeah, I am. At least tonight I have Winston, he's not as warm as you but he's a better cuddler." She ambled down the hall.

"Winston?" he asked curiously.

"My panda." She glared him incredulously as if he hadn't been in the hotel with her the night before.

He laughed, "I'm sorry I didn't live up to your standards, Milady."

She couldn't help but laugh at him then, "Well, you were alright." She said shyly again as she stopped on the bottom stair. She was going to let him lead the way upstairs but she surprised herself when she leaned in to kiss his cheek. Her eyes widened at her own actions and she stepped off the stair immediately, and started to unstrap her shoes. "Uh, I guess I should take these off now." She balanced herself with one hand on the wall, pulling one shoe off and setting it near the door.

He cleared his throat, "I'm surprised Abuela lets you walk around in shoes, she usually makes everyone take them off."

"I offered but she told me that they made my legs look longer and to not ruin the outfit." She smiled as she let the other shoe drop. She stepped aside, indicating with her hand that he should lead the way.

"Yeah, she's not wrong," he muttered as he passed her.

"What was that?" he didn't answer her. She was still on the bottom step trying to figure out if she could fathom what he said. She looked up, he had disappeared down the hall, "My goodness Penelope, just keep it together," she whispered to herself.

He reappeared at the top of the staircase, "Coming?"

"I wish." She said under her breath as she ascended the steps.

"What?"

"Nothing," she cheerily uttered, "Absolutely nothing."


	7. Chapter 7

1\. I'm still upset about that episode.

2\. Been busy writing new stories, I didn't mean to take so much time in between updates. My bad ya'll.

3\. Thanks so much for the reviews, favs, and follows. Who doesn't need a pick me up right now?

Luke had just watched Penelope walk past him, unsure if he heard her correctly and wondering if she would actually be that bold. He shook it off as he led the way to the first door on the left. "So this is the guest bedroom, it's small just like every other room," he said nervously, unsure why he was nervous at all.

"That's what makes this house so wonderful, there's so much love even in the smallest of places," Penelope stated as she walked around him, towards her bags that he'd placed on the bed.

He beamed at the compliment to his childhood something that was a true piece of him, "I'll get you those extra blankets, the bathroom over there is the closest for you." He pointed towards where she could get ready for bed. She nodded and he went downstairs to the linen closet, pulling out a couple of extra heavy blankets for her.

He brought them back to her room, setting them on the bed, "Hope these are enou-" he turned towards the door when he'd heard her footsteps approaching. His eyes widened when he saw the cut up black t-shirt she was wearing, the wide neck that she'd cut with scissors revealed her clavicle as it completely fell off of one shoulder. Her bra was off, and just a hint of the top of her left breast was showing, where the shirt hung low. She wore the same short shorts from the night before, "Guess she wasn't cold tonight," he muttered to himself before addressing her, "I hope these are enough." He regained control of his words but not of his whole body, he grabbed the top blanket, holding it in front of him, "I'll just take this one and leave you the rest." He nodded curtly and made his way out of the room and across the hall.

"Oh-kay." She said slowly as she squinted at the other door he'd just disappeared into, before shrugging and shutting hers. She got into bed, scrolling through her phone, as she tried to occupy her mind, not quite tired enough for sleep yet.

Luke changed into his sweats, still dealing with his current arousal problem, hoping the mundane tasks of getting ready for bed would make it subside, "This is stupid," he said to himself as he laid in bed, wide awake. He was going to just take care of his own problem, but he stopped himself wondering how he could do that at his age, with not only his grandmother, but also the actual cause of said problem, just an earshot away. "It's fine, okay, just going to think about literally anything else."

Ten minutes later he was tossing and turning, feeling hot despite the cold outside, and his plan not even remotely working, because no matter what he tried to think of, it kept coming back to a bare shoulder and the dip of an old t-shirt. He got up, resolving himself to go to her room and talk about what was happening between them.

He opened his door and stood in the hall in front of the other door that she was just on the other side of, he put his fist up, about to knock. A moment later he withdrew it hastily and ran his hand over his face and went back into his room, shutting the door again. "Talk about what? Freak her out when you're actually friends now? Lose her because you're too horny one night?" He shook his head at himself. Laying back down he pulled the sheets up to his hips, put a hand behind his head, and stared straight up at the ceiling.

A few minutes later, he threw the covers off, having talked himself into it all again, opening his door and going back to hers. He stood before it, squinting at it as if it had betrayed him. "Nope." He turned to go back into his room when he heard a thud from downstairs, immediately he reached for his gun on the bedside table.

Penelope opened her door, seeing him in the hallway with his gun in hand, "Luke, what was that?"

"I don't know," he reached back to his nightstand, pulling out the other gun he'd put inside, "Here, just in case, okay. Stay here, and if anything, go to Ma's room and lock yourself in with her."

"Luke." She almost whined but the tears forming showed her fear and concern.

"It's probably wind or something, but just in case, okay?" He nodded to the gun and conveyed through his eyes that she would be fine and so would he. He went down the stairs, with his back against the wall, turning when he hit the bottom. He checked down the hall, and then peeked through the glass of the front door. He scanned the deck, seeing a man he didn't recognize, sitting on the top step of the front porch, he rolled his eyes and opened the door, gun still posed in case he was wrong. "You Simpson?"

The man turned around, "Yeah, Mannon's wife is pregnant, I guess she had a scare. He asked me to come over early. I'm sorry, I didn't see the plant in the dark, I was trying to scoop the dirt back in." Luke had already seen the large potted plant tipped over on the step next to him.

"It's alright, just gave us a little scare. Just, next time have your tech person send an alert to my phone if anything else needs to change." Luke was calm, he understood, but it still seemed like an easy thing to avoid.

"Yes, sorry sir that's not a problem. Night."

Luke nodded, shutting and locking the door again. He started to walk up the stairs, before his head appeared, he called out softly, "Penelope, it's just me. I'm coming up now." A few more steps and he saw her concerned face and the wetness in her eyes. "It's okay, the agents changed out early is all."

She held the gun he gave her in her long dangling arm, not wanting to bring it up from its place. He grabbed it, knowing she was uncomfortable even holding it, he quickly set them inside his room before pulling her into his arms, "I don't like being scared in such a happy place," she muttered.

He smiled into her hair as he had tucked her under his chin, "It's still a happy place, just a weird moment is all." She pulled him tighter as she held onto his waist, trying to gain comfort from the proximity, instead gaining a sensation in between her legs. She smelled him as she had the night before, it was his nicely scented aftershave or deodorant or something, but this time it was mixed with just a hint of sweat, which was weird. He'd just been laying in bed she thought, and all he'd done was walk down stairs, she mentally shrugged, guessing it was adrenaline, even from such a flimsy false call. She took a deep breath, her eyes inches from his chest. Realizing her mistake too late as the sweet smelling air filled her lungs, all she got was more aroused.

"Okay, I'm glad everything is okay," she disengaged, "I'll - uh, goodnight." She backed into her room only a few steps away from where they were in the hall, not looking back at his face.

He watched the door close, his arms were still out as if she'd just been plucked from her spot in between them. He shook his head at her actions, stepping forward for the third time, posed directly in front of her door. He took a deep breath and walked back to his room again, putting his guns back in their spots and sitting on the edge of the bed. At least his problem had gone away mostly, as long as he stopped thinking about it right now, "Go to bed Luke," he pulled the covers harshly over himself and forced his eyes shut.

Penelope had her back to the door she'd just closed, she already felt the wetness between her legs. She'd been turned on by him before, but the times she had thought about it, she just went home, turned on her battery operated friend and took care of the problem, or at least put a band-aid on it until the next time. No battery operated tools in sight, and the fact that she was staying in his childhood home made that a non-viable option. She pursed her lips, stomping to her bed, getting in and pulling the covers over her head, willing the thoughts to stop existing in the dark. She laid awake for much longer than she'd wished but eventually the fatigue won out.

….

Penelope walked through the door that Luke was holding for her, she saw Derek standing in the hall with a coffee mug in hand, poised to give her a welcoming greeting. She walked past him swiftly, not acknowledging him as she moved towards her temporary office.

He watched her walk away in confusion, and then turned to Luke for an explanation, "I have no idea. She woke up like that," was the only answer Luke had to give Derek as he grabbed his own coffee from the small counter in the main entrance.

Derek arched an eyebrow at the vacant hallway before deciding he needed to check on his girl, "Uh, good morning Penelope, how are you?" Derek stuck his neck out, watching her slam things around her desk. "Don't tell me you and Luke started another fight. What did he do this time, did his prom date show up?"

Penelope whirled around, creasing her brow, "No, Derek. No one showed up except an agent that was there early. He scared the bejeezus out of me and then Luke comforted me and then I had to go to bed. _Alone._ And let me tell you that was not easy. You think your man - thing - issues are not easy, well it's not simple for us either." She gave him a look that indicated he needed to apologize for all of mankind right at that very moment.

Derek tried and failed to keep his chuckle in, "Oh-kay, uh, so he comforted you, what does that mean? Like, comfort?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Obviously not, because then I wouldn't be slamming all of my sexual tension around on this desk." She exhibited said tension by pulling out her tablet and setting it harshly on the desk, thankful for her heavy duty case that allowed her to make her point. "I don't think I should stay there, he's right across the hall and that brings up all the thoughts, and he smells like rainbows and magic, and I just can't." She sat in the chair, she put her elbows on the desk and settled her head in her hand.

"Sweetheart, I know this might sound a little crazy but have you _talked_ to him?"

"Derek, we're friends and if he was interested I would know by now. He's not, and I can't be, so there is nothing to talk to him about. I actually enjoy his company - don't tell him that," she picked her head up to temporarily glare at him, "but I don't want to lose that, just because my legs do not want to stay together." She'd returned her head to her hands, eyes closed, squeezing her thighs, willing it to be enough sensation.

Derek's face was bemused, knowing she felt that way, almost sure Alvez did as well, and knowing that there was little he could do about it with such a hard headed girl. "Okay, but I think that maybe he might, just might, be able to help you with that problem."

"Oh, I know he _could,_ but he hasn't, and I can't just throw myself at him without talking to him about it - and before you tell me to just talk to him, no, I can't do that either." She rushed the last words as she saw him about to tell her exactly to do that. "Do the ladies bring their vibrators with them in their go-bags, like a travel one maybe? Ya know just in case they're gone for a while?" she was squinting at the wall, contemplating," I should ask them."

Derek shook his head and backed out of the room, not touching that question with a ten foot pole. He walked down the hall and entered the small room that the team was gathered in, trying to make a plan for what to do that day.

"Garcia has the list of people that my grandmother thinks know her schedule, it's not short, it includes almost everyone in her church group, the community center, her doctor's office, and half the people in the neighborhood."

"She can still see if there's any overlap with anyone attending or associated with, the university that Blake works at or anyone on her own list, might get lucky." Rossi said.

Luke nodded, awaiting further instruction, "okay, what we'll do, is take the list and divide it up. Simmons, JJ, Tara, go to the community center, see if anyone sticks out to you. Rossi and I, are going to talk to some of the long term neighbors to see if there's anything there. Alvez, Morgan, go to the church, talk to the priest, and interview the church volunteers, see if they've seen anything that could be helpful. Reid, stay here and go through the lists with Garcia." Prentiss stood up from her chair, everyone immediately following her lead.

Derek came around the table to Luke who was gathering his papers to hand off to Spencer, "Garcia is cranky today, probably a good thing we're going out so we won't be in the line of fire."

Luke smirked, "Yeah, she can be downright terrifying, especially for someone dressed so innocently." He looked at Derek then, "Well, innocently as in color, not as in cut of dress."

Derek arched one eyebrow at him, "Got that right."

"Look, can you give these to Spencer when Tara's done talking to him, I'm going to go talk to her for a second," he handed the folder to Derek.

"Sure, man. We'll head out in five."

Luke walked down the hall, around the corner to Penelope's office. He saw Michael at the other end of the hall, with a box of supplies. He knew it must be for Penelope, but he was going to leave in a few minutes, so her supplies could wait. He slipped in the door and shut it, indicating a private conversation, no one needed to know if it was case related or not.

"My Queen of Ice, why so chilly today?" His back was to the door he'd just closed, as he waited for her to turn around.

She shut her eyes, taking a calming breath before spinning her chair around, "I didn't mean to be. I suppose it's the case and the scare last night, I didn't sleep well." She tried to smile but it appeared more like a wince.

He pushed off the door, taking the few long strides to get to her, something about his determined stride made her stand up from her chair, "Hey, Mi Reina, if you had trouble sleeping, why didn't you just come sleep with me?" He was just a foot in front of her now, studying her face carefully.

She licked her lips, searching for an answer, other than the one that was at the forefront of her brain, that said if she had come to his bed last night it wouldn't have been for sleep, "I didn't want to bother you again, I already did the night before. Don't you want to sleep alone, no one to disturb you?"

He laughed, "Why would you think you were bothering me? I could have kicked you out."

"But you wouldn't because you're too nice. You don't need me to curl up on you just so that I feel less alone." Penelope let her eyes examine the floor near his feet rather than look at him directly.

"You think the other night only benefited you? You're smarter than that, aren't you? Comfort goes both ways, you know?"

She peeked up at him over her glasses, "Right, well I guess I should've just woken you up then."

"Yes, you should've. You can anytime, you'd do the same for me," he crossed his arms still staring at her intently.

She bit her lip, noticing the intensity of his inspection, but not knowing if he was upset at her for not trusting him, or if there was something else behind the domineering gaze. "Well, I won't let it happen again, sir," she goaded him.

His eyes widened momentarily before he narrowed them, staring at the lip she'd brought back between her teeth, "It better not." He uncrossed his arms and closed the space in between them, "Don't you dare let me hear about you suffering when there is something I can do about it. It won't end well for you."

Her eyes were wide and innocent as she peered up at him just inches from her face, she was slightly shocked at his tone, unaware what made him so tense, but liking it more than she had any right to. "Yes, sir," she said much more quietly and without any snark.

He heard the door open, and then Derek's voice, "Alvez, you ready?" Luke nodded, never taking his eyes off of Penelope.

He let a smirk crawl onto his face and spoke to her a low voice, "You'll tell me later, what I can do to make up for it." It was not a request, she only nodded her assent and then watched him stride towards the door, joining Derek in the hallway.

Her face felt hot and flushed, she momentarily cursed him for revving her up again. She moved over to the computer's cooling fans in the corner of the room, standing in front of them, and letting the breeze blow her curls around her face, "Well, fu-udge."


	8. Chapter 8

Not sure where else to put this, so, for anyone wondering about more for In a Fog, I'm still not sure. I wrote Luke's pov but it's just not the same depth so...I genuinely just don't want to ruin what I already wrote but I am still working on it. So...we'll see.

Also, my shoulder is acting up again so I'm behind on replies.

* * *

Derek and Luke spoke to the priest, asking him to keep a lookout for anything, but getting no information other than he would notice newcomers, and any strange behavior, since church wasn't exactly a popular destination these days.

They made their way downstairs to the large hall where the church volunteers held their meetings, and where the majority of the events took place. The only person there was the head of the volunteer committee, a middle aged woman, by the name of Lupe.

"No, I'm sorry, I don't think I've noticed anyone acting suspicious. We do have more people show up for the events, the Halloween candy giveaway brings most people from the neighborhood, but that's no different than any other year. Other than that, I think the last new church member that I've had, was four months ago, and that's Antonia Morales. She's ninety four, her kids just moved her here to be closer because she has to have a heart monitor now, I doubt that's who you're looking for."

"We're thinking it wouldn't actually be someone new as much as someone that might just have a grudge or maybe someone that just never sat right with you in some way." Derek was kindly trying to get her to think beyond just the friendly church folks she knew.

"Maybe just someone that makes you uneasy or a little uncomfortable. Anyone that seems to ask a lot of questions." Luke added.

"Honestly, I don't think I can say that anyone is - that anyone makes me uncomfortable for any reason. We're a close congregation, you know that, Luke. Nita has been here since before me, and you used to be here three times a week when Father Domingo was here, even when Father Ronaldo took over. There's not much we don't know about each other." She stopped to shake her head, trying to think, "And I don't mean to say this to be rude, but most of the church ladies ask too many questions. Honestly, we're all a bit nosy," she smiled at the two men in front of her.

Luke and Derek looked at each other before giving her a kind smile. "Thanks ma'am. Let us know if anything else comes up." Derek told her as Luke handed her a card for her to contact them. They walked out of the basement, towards the intimidating large double doors. Derek slid his sunglasses over his face as they stepped onto the sidewalk, "Well, I'm not surprised, a new member would stand out."

"Yeah, and from what Reid said we aren't looking for someone new. And speaking to Father Santiago and Lupe, neither of them suspect anyone. Would you? The same parishioners you've know for years and one of them suddenly is a terrible person. If no one's behavior stood out until now then I can't imagine that it's anyone here." Luke said as he pondered. They began walking towards their SUV, Luke heading for the driver's seat.

"Hey, should we get lunch before we head back? We're done much earlier than the rest of them, we don't need to meet back for another hour." Derek questioned.

"Sure, like Puerto Rican food? There's a small bakery over here that serves lunch," Luke suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Derek nodded.

….

A two minute drive later, a quick order and they were sitting at a table, outside in the crisp Autumn air with food and drinks. "So, tell me what's happening with you and Penelope," Derek had a smirk on his face as he watched Luke stop mid-way from bringing his drink to his lips.

"Right into it then, eh?" He set his cup down but chuckled at the question, "Honestly, nothing has actually happened. Don't know why everyone assumes it has," he settled into his seat.

Derek mimicked his behavior, "Because you two are always together, you're friends, and all the flirting."

"I think you've confused yourself with me," Luke raised his eyebrow in jest at Derek.

"Okay, okay, point taken, but she never liked me quite like that, we were _just_ _friends_. I don't think you two are."

Luke adjusted in his seat uncomfortably, "We are…friends. Do we sometimes act like more? Maybe a little bit, but we - there's no - I just don't see starting something with someone you spend so much time with as the greatest idea. If it doesn't work out or if one of us doesn't feel the same as the other, how would that work?" he glanced up at Derek who was listening intently.

"This might sound like a crazy question but have you two ever talked to each other about this?" He raised his eyebrows, he knew the answer already but if he couldn't get Penelope and her stubborn ass to do something about it, maybe Alvez would be easier to convince.

"No, not at all, we talk about a lot of stuff, not that."

"So what's the problem?"

"The problem is, even having that conversation changes things. If we have different expectations it makes it impossible to ignore after the fact. What do I do with that?" He leaned forward, "Look, I don't want to get hurt and I don't want to hurt her. If anything were to happen, it couldn't be tentative, it would be all in from the get go and how are either of us supposed to know if that will work out?"

"Well-" Derek started to answer when Luke stopped him.

"Before you say to just take a chance or something like that, are you trying to tell me if you ever dated Prentiss, JJ, or even Penelope, the team dynamic would not have changed? Especially if it ended?" he tilted his head at Derek.

Derek had put his elbows on the table while listening but he put his hands up, showing he knew Luke's logic wasn't flawed, "So, just thinking out loud here, are you ever planning on dating someone else? I mean, if your plan is not to be alone the rest of your life? Or what if Penelope started dating? What happens then?"

Luke shook his head, trying to think of the right answer, "I've been alone a long time, to be honest that's how I've preferred it. I'd rather be alone than waste my time. Doesn't mean I haven't thought of the benefits of being with someone, I have, but-" he sat up straighter again, coming to a decision that he might as well take the help where he can get it. He needed to figure this out, "Alright here's the thing, and I'm going to ask you to keep this to yourself, not to keep secrets from Penelope, but just because I think it would only embarrass her if she knew this is my thought process," he waited for Derek to agree.

Derek thought about his request for a moment before almost imperceptibly nodding, "Okay."

Luke took a deep breath, "At first she was not welcoming, but it didn't take me long to figure it all out. You'd just left and that was a big change for her, so everyone assumed she didn't want to get close to anyone right away. To be completely honest, that excuse is sort of bogus."

Derek raised his eyebrows at Luke, perplexed by his observation, "Okay, explain."

"Not that she doesn't miss you, she does, immensely. Just because you aren't at work anymore, doesn't mean you are out of her life. And you never should be. But I don't think she was protecting herself from caring about more people, just me. I didn't take your place, no one can. I joined a team and if it wouldn't have been me first, if it had been Walker or Simmons, can you picture her doing the same thing to them?" Luke had a smirk on his face as he waited for Derek to give him an answer.

Derek let his eyebrows fall, glancing to the table before looking back up as he came to a conclusion, "No I can't see that," he gave a slight chuckle.

"Exactly, it's about me. I'm fully aware of that, and do not repeat this part because then I will get a lecture about how full of myself I am and I _do not_ want to have that conversation again."

He watched Derek's eyes light up as a smile crawled across his face, "Go on."

Luke tilted his head, a goofy smile on his face, "It's because she liked me from the beginning. Don't get me wrong, I'm not claiming to know exactly how she feels, just that she was attracted to me and she didn't want to be. Probably because it would've been awkward, partially because she can't read me, and partially because I was supposed to be temporary. I was supposed to go as quick as I came."

"So you do know that much?" Derek was smiling now, he definitely understood Luke's point of view.

"I know it to an extent, yes. But not in the fat-headed macho way she might tell you about. Just in the way that it makes sense, and I do know her well enough to get that about her. Like I said, I don't know more than that. I don't know how she feels. I don't know if she'd set a wedding date after a first kiss or if she'd stop talking to me. I'm a profiler, sure, but I can't read that far. Not into her. It's probably better that way. I wouldn't want to be able to to read her like that, it would be unfair."

"I understand that." Derek's elbows were still on the table, he had brought his hands together, slowly moving them against each other as he contemplated, "And you?"

"I don't know how easy I am to profile to you, but I like her back. It didn't take long, as soon as I figured out what she was doing I let my guard down because I thought it was cute, and then she just crawled up into my heart and stayed there. She could make me laugh while she was trying to insult me. She tried her hardest to be mean but she's not good at it," he laughed.

"So forgive me if I'm still not quite understanding the problem here?" Derek held his hands open again looking for answers.

"Well, she's my best friend now. We talk about almost everything and we need each other in that way. Let me ask you this, your platonic friendship with her, you need that, you need her and she needs you, but if it ever had become more than that, would you so easily have risked it?" Luke's face held genuine curiosity.

Derek glared at the table in front of him, letting that situation take hold for a moment, before making eye contact with him again, "You're right, I wouldn't have wanted to lose her. I'd want to know for sure that she wanted exactly what I did."

"Yeah and you can't know for sure. Not ever, really. As easy as she is to read, and I know she is, if you had any murky feelings, do you think your ability to profile her would have been a little cloudy as well?"

"Probably, emotions make it harder to see through people. Savannah kept me in the dark, I thought she was going to break up with me and then I figured out she was pregnant. I was scared she wasn't happy and turns out we were starting a family. I definitely should've seen that coming but I didn't." Derek agreed with his point wholeheartedly.

"So you see where I'm at. To be honest, I don't know where to go from here. Don't worry, I'm not asking. You don't have to get in the middle, although it seems like all of you are just fine doing so anyway," he tilted his head at him. "But do you even know for sure what she wants from me or do you know that she wants to lick my abs and kiss my face, because those are not the same thing as love." He was smiling about his own choice of words but he wanted to make his point.

Derek laughed, "Alright, alright, I see what you mean. And no, I won't speak for her, but as a friend, without any profiling involved, I think she has a real emotional attachment that she's pushing far away. A romantic one, not just friendship. I didn't get verbal confirmation though, you're right, that's just my opinion." He grabbed his drink but stopped as he was about to take a sip, "Although the ab licking, that one I know for sure."

Luke put his tongue to his teeth, trying not to laugh but a chuckle came out anyway, "Well, she is really lecherous," he said it affectionately.

Derek was full on laughing, "She really is, she really is."

They dug into their food, both aware that some kind of endearing friendship formed over the short conversation. The subject turned back to the case, both of them frustrated, both of them fearful for their loved ones, and wishing they had a better idea about what the unsub was really after.

"I'm sorry you're back in all of this. I know why you left. It's respectable. I know you don't really want to be here." Luke pushed his now empty plate away from him.

Derek bobbed his head from side to side, "I don't and I do. I miss it, but I know I did what I had to do. Thing is, if I need to be out here again in order to protect them, I will. I feel like that's just as much my obligation as staying safe. It won't matter if I'm not in the field if they're being threatened at home."

Luke nodded, "Yeah, I'm not sure I could ever stop. I like the chase and even though the BAU does that differently than I'm used to, it's still something for me to keep my mind occupied. But if I had a good enough reason like you did, I'm sure I'd figure out how to adjust."

Derek squinted at him, "Do you want one? A reason, I mean."

Luke's face turned up in contemplation, "I guess I haven't really let myself think about it too much. My life's been all about the job, even before the FBI. Suppose I'll figure it out one day," his phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out, swiping the screen and letting huge smile grace his face as he read the message.

 ** _What exactly is the limit on what I can request from you?_**

Forgetting that Derek was probably watching him intently he stared at the phone for a few moments before texting back.

 ** _I'm fairly certain your mind knows no limitations._**

They were getting more and more flirty when they were alone, and even more so in texts, but not really on the phone or in front of the others. He was sure they were both pushing a boundary now but he was finding it harder and harder to care.

"Not to intrude, but I'm guessing this is that whole, _sometimes we act like more,_ situation happening." Derek teased, trying not to let a huge laugh break out on his face.

Luke glanced up to him from his phone, "Uh, you would be right. Lecherous, as you know."

"Yeah, but ours was out in the open where it was, I know this sounds nuts, but, less obvious," he chuckled.

Luke laughed as well, "Yeah I know. Believe me, if she actually flirted with me on the phone, on purpose, in front of the others, I'd know she wasn't scared about it anymore. Instead I get some very suggestive personal texts sometimes. I'm not complaining." Luke informed him, a satisfied grin on his face.

His phone vibrated again, letting him know there was another message, he quickly swiped the screen again.

 ** _You said that I had to tell you what you can do to make up for last night but I'd rather you tell me what you want to do to make up for it. I'm certain, I'd be willing to listen._**

If he wasn't so turned on, thinking about exactly what he did want to do to make up for it, he would be truly pissed off. She could never just show her cards. Then again, he really never did either, but he thought he made it obvious that he would go along with whatever she would ask for. Bad idea be damned, he'd forget instantly what he'd been holding back for, he was sure of it. But it was clear she'd rather play it safe and he had become quite good at that. That's what he had just said to the other man at the table with him anyway.

 ** _No, Penelope. You don't want that, you don't actually want me to explain in vivid detail what I could do to make up for you not having a good night's sleep. But if you decide to honor my request, you know where to reach me._**

He rolled his eyes, setting his phone back on the table. Derek had been watching Luke's face through the whole interaction, "She piss you off that quickly?" he nodded to the phone.

"Unfortunately. I guess I shouldn't be. She's playing it cautious just like me, but it's clear she wants me to take the responsibility. If she can get me to make a rash decision then it would be all my fault if it crashed and burned."

Derek nodded, he was sure Penelope would be open to something more with Luke but she was not willing to believe it without some confirmation, these two were at a true impasse. But Luke was right, Derek couldn't tell what Penelope really wanted from him either. "Sorry, man."

"Yeah, guess we should get going. Let's hope that the rest of them had better luck than us." Luke slid out of the booth with Derek following, "You ever have a _sext_ piss you off?" Luke put his hands up to make air quotations around the word that was the closest thing he could describe their almost inappropriate interactions as.

Derek laughed conspiratorially, feeling some sympathy for Luke, "No, but if anyone could achieve that I'm sure it would be my Sweetness."

* * *

Thanks so much for your support on this as well as my other stories. It means so much to me.


	9. Chapter 9

For anyone following my other stories, I was trying to update them in rotation but this one was ready first. My bad.

Luke and Derek arrived back at the field office, Luke nodded to Derek, letting him know he was going to see Penelope. He walked into her office where she was shuffling things around on her desk. She turned, glaring at him, waiting for him to speak. He shut her door and then put his back against it, he had much more patience than her, she could speak first. He came to see her, and didn't ignore her by going straight to the conference room. It was her turn.

She rolled her eyes, "Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

He smirked, pushing off the door, coming to invade her space again. He got close enough to her that she had to tip her head back to see his face, "You're the one being stubborn. You were supposed to tell me what to do to make up for your bad night's sleep. You said yes sir before I left, I thought you understood."

She couldn't help feeling overheated just from him being so close and because he was giving her that low gravelly voice she liked so much, "Why are you so worried? It wasn't your fault." She knew he could see her trying to keep herself in check as she barely let the words slip out of her mouth.

"Penelope," he growled. "Why don't you tell me why you needed to know what the limitations were? You obviously had something in mind." He didn't touch her but he let his feet shuffle towards her as if he was leading her in a dance, making her turn and then back up until she was against the wall, with him inches from her face. "Do you want to tell me?"

Penelope bit her bottom lip, of course she wanted to tell him, but if she did and he didn't want her like that, if this was just a fun flirty game between friends, she wasn't sure she could handle that. At least this way she could keep up the illusion that he did want her. She kept her mouth shut as she studied his face, searching for some sort of reassurance.

He watched her contemplating her options. he cracked his neck in frustration, she must see that he wanted her, but they couldn't just have some quickie. They couldn't just bang one out of their systems and forget about it. She had to give him something that was more than the desire he saw in her eyes. If she gave him some hint that she actually wanted more and she was willing to sacrifice, then he could justify letting his heart go. But not for her to play a game, no, he couldn't do that.

"Tell me something," he dropped his gaze to her lips waiting for her to speak.

She rolled her shoulders back, feeling a little bit of confidence. He was making sure she knew that he was willing to be there for her. He said that, even when she was trying to keep him at a distance. She couldn't say what she had really been thinking, there was a reason she texted him instead of saying something in person. At least she could hide behind a screen the way she was used to, and could have an excuse about a misunderstanding. He'd been happy to go along with it before, but apparently he wasn't going to let her get away with it anymore.

"I slept better at the hotel, so I don't want to sleep alone." She decided the spot where his collar met his throat was a perfect place to keep her eyes fixated.

"Done. And?"

She put herself out there enough, at least that's what she thought. She was being truthful when she told Derek she thought if something was going to happen that it would've already. That Luke would've done something if he wanted something. So in her mind she shouldn't assume that their closeness meant anything more than when she would let Derek comfort her. But it felt distinctly different to her.

She met his eyes with hers bravely, "That's up to you." Then she pushed at his shoulder lightly, to move him out of her way and took a seat and rolled herself up to her desk.

He shook his head at her, but at least she gave him one request, still somewhat cautiously. He could give a little too. It was something, and what exactly was he expecting anyway? His hesitation was still valid, he didn't want to risk everything when he didn't even know what this was. For all he knew the attraction and the chemistry wasn't enough to create something that lasted.

"Okay, Garcia," he ambled towards the door, "I guess you'll just have to live with what you get then."

Luke was shaking his head and suppressing a laugh at the same time as he entered the conference room. Most of the team found his demeanor amusing, they all exchanged pointed looks but kept their comments to themselves.

Spencer was waiting for Luke to join them before he relayed any information, "Garcia and I went through every person on the list, but there is nothing at all connecting them to Blake or Hotch."

Matt crossed his arms before speaking, "Everyone that knows your grandmother says the same thing, she's the nicest lady they know and they don't know who would want to hurt her," he smiled at Luke.

"Same here. No one in the neighborhood says they noticed anyone hanging around. They know her schedule but they all know everyone's schedule because they all talk." Rossi stated.

"It's still a lot of the old neighborhood that was always there when I was a kid. It's a close knit neighborhood. A lot of my grandma's generation immigrated at the same time. They have a community there that reminds them of home," Luke agreed.

"Well, unfortunately that sort of works against us," Prentiss said. "Alright, who are we looking for?"

"Most likely male, although females do tend to choose methods that can be perceived as intimidating without personal contact, photographs could do that," Spencer said.

"Okay, and what about with Blake? Whoever this is they have to fit in on a college campus," JJ added.

"Right, so probably someone in their twenties," Tara said.

"Or someone who could fit in as staff or as a professor," Luke countered.

"So doesn't that bring us back to where we were?" Derek put his palms face down on the table to lean on it.

Rossi walked to the board, examining the photos in front of him. "What about someone that also fits in at a park, one of these is Jack at his soccer practice."

"True, but Hotch said that the after school program also coincides with the adult softball league, so there are plenty of people not only playing but watching," JJ informed.

"What does this unsub want to accomplish? Intimidation maybe, revenge, what about a family member of a case the BAU worked on? They want us to know that our families are affected," Emily said.

"Entirely possible, but once again, there are endless family members and friends that could be affected. Children of the murderers we put away, it could be anyone. Justifying vengeance isn't hard, chances are if you want it bad enough you'll find a reason." Rossi turned around to address the group.

"The thing is, this guy hasn't killed anyone, at least that we know. There's no crime scene we can go investigate, there is no new communication, what we have is what we have." Luke stated.

"What are you saying?" Matt questioned.

"I'm saying that maybe he isn't communicating anymore because he's already got us where he wants us." Luke glanced around.

"So what does that mean? We're looking in the wrong place?" Tara turned to Spencer and then Rossi.

"All I'm saying is, maybe I don't fit into the equation at all, maybe it was a matter of convenience, at least that's what it feels like." Luke answered.

"Alright, let's start with cases that both Hotch and Blake worked on. She was only with us for two years. They are both gone from the team, which means that they mean something to the unsub otherwise the unsub wouldn't have gone through the trouble of targeting her when they could have just gone after one of us." Emily said to them.

"I'll get Garcia to make a list of the unsubs during Blake's time in the BAU." Derek announced as he walked to the door.

"Then we'll narrow it down from there, we can eliminate the ones we had profiled as loners, or whose families abandoned them before they were criminals." Rossi added.

"But it's not going to be easy we'll have to profile them all over again, most of them probably had more secrets than we ever knew about." JJ stated the reality.

"You're not wrong. How many cases did we work on with Blake? Fifty maybe? That's a lot of potential family members," Rossi said.

"Let's get started." Emily took a deep breath as she moved other files from the table.

...

Penelope waved at JJ, Matt, and Tara as she walked to the vehicle parked behind the one they were leaving in. She stationed herself by the passenger's side door, waiting for Luke to come out of the field office. They were all turning in for the night, they had dug through the lives of many unsubs, most of whom, they wanted to forget.

They split up the files and when one of them would run into someone that had potential, they would have Garcia dig into their lives, finding out the secrets that the unsub themselves probably didn't know about their family and friends. So far they had a lot of dead ends and even more openings. Emily called it for the night after checking on everyone's families, and Blake, and Hotch, making sure there truly wasn't any more communication.

Luke walked out with the remaining members of the team, all of them piling in the first vehicle, while Luke bid them goodnight as he walked towards Penelope. "Ready?"

"Yes I need to-" she was going to say take off her heels but he was always telling her she was nuts to wear them all the time, "change my dress."

He looked her up and down, "No you don't." He opened her door for her, she hopped in, rolling her eyes.

When he got in he waited for her to finish buckling her seat belt while staring at her, and then the inevitable, "What are you doing, Alvez? The road is out there."

"Yeah, but I'm supposed to do something to make up for your bad night's sleep so I'm just trying to gauge how angry you are already today," he was joking but still serious.

"I don't know what you want from me." She was talking about in that moment, but the fact that it applied in a more general way was not lost on her.

"Do you have something warmer you can put on? And yes, also shoes that you can walk on uneven surfaces without rolling an ankle."

"Yes," she narrowed her eyes as she let the word slowly fall out of her mouth.

"Alright, let's go change." He buckled up with a satisfied grin on his face, taking off towards his house.

"What are we doing?"

"You said it was up to me, so you're going to get what you're going to get." Luke informed her.

"Alvez, this better not be a trick, or a, I don't know, a something else, equally stupid."

"It's not. I wouldn't do that to you."

They pulled up to his abuela's home, Luke said hello to Simpson who was perched on a cushioned chair, his abuela probably insisted the man use so he was more comfortable.

When they got inside he told Penelope to put on something comfortable and warm. She gave him a wary look but went up the stairs to follow his instructions. He went to find his grandmother who had yelled a greeting from the kitchen when she heard them come in.

"Ninito, you aren't back too late, what's happened?"

"Not much, we haven't really gotten anywhere. I'm sorry Abuela."

She flicked both wrists at him, "Oh, mijo, don't. You and your friends will figure it out, you need to rest too."

"I wasn't done with dinner yet, because I thought you would be later," she spun around to the pot on the stove.

"Don't worry, Abuela. I actually wanted to take Penelope somewhere first, if you don't mind," he asked sheepishly.

She gave him a sly smile, "Oh, are you asking for permission from me?"

He laughed, "No, I guess not. I just wanted to tell you but if you want me to stay-"

"No! Take her. That Jeremy is so nice and he enjoys my special tea. He's very good at his job too."

"You're not bothering him, are you?" Luke was trying to hold in a chuckle.

"He loves my stories," she flicked one wrist at him while stirring with the other hand.

Luke shook his head but wisely said nothing, "We'll be back soon, okay?"

"No, no, mijo, take your time. It's just stew and bread, I leave it on the warmer and you can have it anytime." Nita knew better than to waste this opportunity.

Luke leaned in to kiss her cheek, "Okay, I'll see you later."

"Oh no, see me in the morning. I'm going to bed. No need to rush home for me." Luke tilted his head, knowing she never went to bed this early, one of her stories was on late at night. "I have a t.v. in my room," she answered his unasked question. "Oh mijo, you can use those blankets you have, I washed some others if you need more." She gave him an innocent smile but his eyes had widened, she knew exactly where he was taking Penelope.

Luke chose to ignore his grandmother's all-knowing gaze and went upstairs to change. He swapped his button up for a sweater, then went to his closet, grabbing what he needed for their late night da - whatever this was, and a jacket. He also grabbed the two blankets he had on his bed.

He walked out of his room at the same time Penelope was closing the door behind her, "So where are we going, Luca?" she singsonged the name, mimicking the way she heard the woman she met the other day say it.

He scrutinized her black leggings with pink flowers all over them, and her matching shirt with a long cardigan over it all, well at least she wouldn't freeze. "Funny. Let's go," he took off at a jaunt down the stairs she followed at a slower pace. Despite being in flats she still was not a jaunter.

"You're lucky you're pretty, Alvez," she muttered to herself as she descended the steps. "Please just tell me," she pleaded as she came to stand in front of him, she put on her most innocent pout.

Luke really did enjoy that pout of hers, he closed the space between them and leaned down to be close to her ear, "Not a chance in hell, but you know you want to know," he swung the front door open, leaving her in the doorway with her mouth open.

"Gah!" she stomped her foot, but she knew she was intrigued, not angry. She waved to the agent who was still in his comfy chair, and slammed her door shut when she got in the car. She crossed her arms over her chest, Luke was about to make a comment, "Shut it, just shut it," she growled.

As they drove, she was even more confused, they only went a few blocks before he turned into an entrance that literally had a sign that said wrong way. "Uh Newbie! What are you doing?" she was holding onto the armrest as if it was going to save her.

He was laughing at her, "Don't worry, Chica. There is no one here that will be leaving this way." He drove up a small hill through, what she could only see were concrete buildings, until he parked at the top of a grassy hill. She stepped down from the vehicle cautiously, and he got out and threw the blankets he'd brought on the hood of the car. "C'mon, don't want to lose the lights, they only stay on until eleven," he slammed the car door shut and took off at a jog.

Her mouth fell open, until she regained some composure, "Nuh uh, no way in hell." She reached for the door handle so she could protest, from the warmth inside the vehicle, but she heard the telling lock of the doors and his laugh from the distance.

Thank you for the reviews, follows and favs, they are genuinely appreciated.

Also, thank you to everyone that has contacted me about In the Fog, I'm glad it elicited such an intense response, I am working on it and thanks for the encouragement.


	10. Chapter 10

I was on vacation and got stuck for two extra days because of the weather, so I'm behind on posting.

Out of Somewhere is updated. Someone pm'd me that they didn't get the notification. So if FF screwed you too, here's the announcement; it's updated.

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Her mouth was still hanging open as she watched his figure get further and further away. "Stupid Newbie." She was not impressed to say the least. She walked slowly over to him, as he was tossing the football he'd brought in the air. "What exactly is it that you think I'm going to be doing here?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"We're playing football." He opened his arms wide and gestured around, indicating she was really quite dense.

She scoffed, "Not likely Newb."

"Hey hey, what's with the Newbie? I thought you were over that."

"I _was_ until you started doing dumb things again. Then I have no choice but to call you a Newbie, Newb."

"C'mon, you're going to have fun."

"I faked my period for four years to get out of gym class."

"Well that won't work with me. I know you had your period last week. You had JJ bring you a tampon."

Her face turned up in disgust. "Why would you know that?"

"Uh, I was getting coffee when I heard you whine that you didn't wear your period panties and you needed a tampon _uber quick_." He told her as if it was obvious.

Her mouth went wide in embarrassment, and he could see her turning red even though the game lights weren't on. The floodlights on the buildings gave enough illumination to make the field partially lit, just enough to make out her pink cheeks. "Why, eww, why?"

"I'm not supposed to know you get your period? I mean, you don't have to share the information with me. I'm just saying I passed health class, and I'm aware the situation can occur." He was teasing her.

"I'm sorry, football? Is that the one where I can tackle you?" She asked in frustration.

He laughed. "I can't wait to see you try."

She put her arms quickly down to her sides. "I don't know how to do this, whatever it is, that I do with that." She pointed at the football.

"I'm going to teach you, duh."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Teach me then, teacher." She actually did hate sports, and she wasn't going to stop giving him a hard time, but she was also pretty intrigued to see where he was going with this.

"Okay, well first off, catch." He lightly tossed the ball towards her, purposely aiming low so she could get it in her hands.

"Aghgh!" She yipped and sidestepped the ball, not even sticking her hands out to catch it.

He bent over laughing, "Oh, this is going to be better than I thought."

"You brought me here to humiliate me?" She stomped her foot.

"Not at all, I came here to unwind, and I have no doubt all the laughing will easily do that for me."

She pouted, "You're mean, you - you meanie."

"Is this the routine you used on your P.E. teacher?" he pointed at her lip.

"Okay fine, obviously we need to start with the basics."

"Catching the ball is the basics, Penelope." She stuck her neck out and gave him an evil glare. "Okay okay, how about I explain the rules, and then we'll work on the coordination." He laughed, and she reached out and slapped at his arm.

About an hour later, after many arguments, she had finally been able to catch the ball as long as he warned her before he threw it. He learned that the hard way when she threw it back at his head, which at least meant she was getting better at aiming.

"Okay, so the line is only seven yards behind me, so why don't you try to get a touchdown."

"Excuse me? I'm supposed to get past you, with the ball in my hand? Is that a joke?"

"Penelope, you can hold the ball and move at the same time."

"No I can't. It's too big for my hand. I have to hold it with my arms or push it against my boob to keep it in place when I run, so I can't do that and also get past you, Mr. Runs For Fun."

"But you haven't even tried."

"Fine." She was still pretending that she was upset by this stupid pastime, but with him it was actually quite fun. However, she still adamantly refused to ever play in front of anyone else ever. She moved to run, and he was immediately on her. She screamed and took a few steps to the side, "See, no fun, no fun." She had kicked one of her shoes off when she moved to the side.

"Okay, okay, I'll stand back further, alright?"

She nodded, "Hand me my shoe."

He turned to grab it from where it landed a few feet away, "You know flats still aren't sneakers rig-" As he turned around, she threw her other shoe at him and was running towards the line. He was actually really surprised, so it took him a few seconds to react, but he took off after her, catching up to her right when she was about to cross the line. He grabbed her around the waist, but he rotated his body so he would land first.

She was laughing so hard, "Oh my goodness! How did you fall for that?" She was giggling. She still had the ball in her arms. "Look, I totally did a point thing." She pointed to the line which the top half of her body was over and so was his. He was sitting up, his arms behind him supporting him and her legs were over one of his.

"I don't think so, Chica. I got you before that." He pointed at their legs on the other side of the line.

"No, sir, you did not. Not even kind of. I win. You lose." She giggled, "And look, I still have the ball."

"Oh yeah?" He reached over to grab it, and she quickly curled over it to protect it. He was much stronger than her, so she knew it was futile, but it was still hilarious as he attempted to take it from her. She finally lost her grip on it, partially because she was laughing so hard. It fell into her lap, and she still tried to bat his hands away.

He brought his arms around her, so he could try and get it from the other side. He pulled her closer to try and get his hands around it, but, when he pulled her, she was sitting directly between his legs, both of hers over his right leg. When she turned towards him, their faces were only inches apart. Suddenly the fight for the ball seemed irrelevant as she tried to figure out how she was this close to him.

She scanned his face, trying to determine what was happening, but there were no answers in his eyes. He didn't seem to know either. She glanced down to his lips and then back to his eyes. Both of them had come to the decision to lean in and kiss, but neither had actually moved to do it. Luke put his hand on her outer thigh ready to move her the few inches closer to him when they heard the loud click of the floodlights shutting off.

Both of them were knocked out of the trance they'd been in. She felt Luke stiffen, and she knew she wouldn't be getting that kiss she wanted so badly. Probably for the best since him reacting to the heat of the moment would only hurt when she saw the regret afterwards. Penelope moved off of his leg and used her hands to push herself off the ground. Luke followed, dusting off the invisible dirt on his pants and then picking up the football she had let fall off her lap.

He grabbed her hand and led her towards her shoes, using the flashlight on his phone to find them and waiting for her to slide them back on. Luke kept hold of her hand, leading her towards the car. The dim outer lights from the buildings giving him enough guidance to get there. When they did, he threw the football in the car and then used his foot to push off the front tire to get on the hood of the car.

"Uh, I can't do that," Penelope playfully told him.

"That's why your side has the bench." He pointed to a concrete bench that he purposely parked next to.

She huffed, and then stepped onto it before sliding on the car. Luke made sure the bottom blanket was already spread out across the hood. When she was seated next to him, he brought the other blanket to cover their legs. "So I get football and car sitting? You're right. I should've chosen." She said in mock annoyance.

He gave her a goofy grin. "Oh yeah, you were really having a terrible time out there."

"Yeah well, don't tell anybody." She gave him a small smile in the pale moonlight.

He pointed with his chin out towards the far end of the field. She followed his direction, and she saw the view of the city above the trees surrounding the field. "Wow, this is sort of surreal. Grass and trees and then, not even a stone's throw away, all the hustle of the city. I didn't know that happened here."

"It doesn't, not really. I mean, those trees are there to give an illusion that the school is normal. There's graffiti literally everywhere else." He chuckled.

"It's still beautiful," she argued.

He caught her eyes. "Yeah it is." They both shared a smile.

"So you used to sneak in here when girls weren't sneaking to see you?" She crossed her legs, put her elbow on her thigh and set her chin on her hand.

He let his head roll back as he leaned back on his palms. "Are you ever going to let that go?"

"Depends, did you used to bring girls here?" She raised her eyebrows.

Luke kept his mouth closed as he tried to stifle a laugh. "I really think it would be easier if I just had a lobotomy so I wouldn't know the answer to these questions."

Penelope giggled. "That's a little extreme. I'm not that scary."

Luke let a laugh out. "You don't know how wrong you are."

"You know that I don't really mean anything. I don't mean to always give you such a hard time." Penelope's voice lowered.

He put his hand on her knee, and she brought her hand down to meet his. He turned his palm up, letting her draw circles there.

"It's okay. I sort of like when you're a little mean. It's sort of hot. But maybe you could give me the benefit of the doubt sometimes." His eyes followed the pattern she was drawing.

She dropped her head, trying not to let him see her blush. After she thought she felt the heat leave her cheeks, she asked, "How did this happen? How did we get this close? I don't think you set out to make a friend like me." She peeked over her glasses to see his reaction.

"I don't know what I set out to do, but I know that I need you to always be my friend." He cleared his throat. "I'm not really prepared to lose you."

Penelope felt both disappointed and happy. He just wanted to be friends, but she was a meaningful friend, and that was good enough because she didn't want to lose him either. "Won't Nita be worried about us?"

He sat up straight, "She went to bed early, but she did leave some food for us, so I guess we should get back." He took the hint that she was done here.

She actually didn't want to leave. If she could keep him here alone, forever, looking at the stars as she felt his skin under her fingertips, she absolutely would. "Sure, let's go then, I guess."

Neither of them moved, still watching their fingers move around each other until he brought her hand up to his mouth and placed a kiss on the back of her fingers. Luke never took his eyes off of her hand, not wanting to give himself away but finding it harder than ever to remember why he was being so cautious. He let go of her and turned to slide off the car.

She did the same on the other side as Luke folded the blankets up and threw them in the car. As they drove away, she tried to picture a younger Luke walking around these buildings, girls chasing him, and him being absolutely oblivious to it all. She knew he spent most of his time on that field training to become exactly who he was today. He knew who he wanted to be even then. She chuckled. Sometimes she wasn't even sure she was anything yet.

Luke saw her get lost in a daydream so he drove the short distance home without uttering another word.

As he approached the porch, he saw Simpson sitting there. "You switch early?"

"Yeah making up for yesterday. The wife wanted me home without reason last night, and tonight she practically threw me out because she said my new deodorant made her want to barf." The man rolled his eyes. "Those pregnancy hormones are terrifying, but she was already sort of nuts. Don't worry. I'm sure you two won't have it as bad." The man said kindly as he sat back in the chair picking up his flashlight. "Just going to do my sweep now, so you know it's me poking around."

Penelope and Luke exchanged glances before she dropped his gaze and pushed the front door open.

They stayed on neutral topics while they ate a quick dinner, and then they retreated upstairs to get ready for bed. He was waiting for her to get changed. He'd already slipped on a pair of sweats and plugged in his phone to charge. After another ten minutes, he was getting angry. What on earth was she doing?

He glanced down the hall. Seeing the bathroom door open, he was about to be absolutely livid if she was really going to pretend she didn't ask to not sleep alone tonight.

He knocked, and he heard her mumble a _what,_ so he opened the door, and he saw her sitting against the headboard, playing on her phone. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I'm just playing a game on my phone," she answered befuddled.

"No, Penelope, I mean, what are you doing in here when you asked not to sleep alone? Did you forget that you told me what you wanted, and I told you it was already done." Luke approached the bed with nothing but venom in his eyes.

"I just thought - I mean you don't have to - I didn't want to ask you for something, you already gave me a da-night of fun." She was watching him approach and seeing his face contort in rage. She'd have been scared if she wasn't so turned on.

Luke saw her eyes widen in a moment of panic but then he saw the lust that was all too common in her face. So he smirked. Whenever they did this, it was like it wasn't them. They became detached from reality. For some reason, whenever he told her what to do, they magically forgot who they really were to each other.

They had started having moments like these after she danced with a guy at O'Keefes that Luke had told her was bad news. She had rolled her eyes at him, assuming he was just being an ass for some reason, but the guy wouldn't leave her alone afterwards. Finally, Luke having seen the man try to let his hand roam down the back of her dress, pulled her out of the bar and practically threw her in his car. He'd verbally scolded her as he drove. After he did so, he saw her so quiet and meek in the passenger's seat. He was readying himself to apologize and tell her he was just looking out for her safety when she turned to him and mumbled an apology and told him she'd listen next time. After she murmured her acquiescence, she coyly bit her lip. He couldn't remember ever being more turned on.

Ever since then, it had become a small piece of their relationship that only happened when they were alone, and it was pretty rare when it occurred. But after a while, she would purposely disobey, and he'd purposely give an order she didn't need to follow, just so they could play this game. They mostly would do it under the facade of a drinking night, but it had been happening in the broad daylight lately, and neither of them had been aware enough to stop it. Neither of them even knew what it meant.

"Penelope, get your ass out of this bed and into mine, now. This is you not doing what I asked you to do, and we both know it." He glared at her.

"Okay, yes, I'm sorry." She threw the covers off of her legs and then brought them over the edge of the bed. She passed him as she shuffled towards his room.

He followed, flipping the light switch in her room and stalking after her. Penelope put her phone down on the nightstand, but she stood next to the bed without a word.

He narrowed his eyes. She was trying to play. Well hell, he was already sexually frustrated and confused as hell about what he should do with any of it. Talking it out with Derek helped for about a nano second, and then he got confused all over again when he went to talk to her again. It made him wonder if she knew what she really wanted because, if she wanted more than sex, he assumed she would have told Derek. But Luke swore to himself that he wouldn't ruin the best friendship he had just because they wanted to bone each other.

"Did I tell you to stand next to the bed or to get in the bed?" He shut his bedroom door and closed in on her.

"In it."

"Right, so what are you doing Penelope? You know better."

She nodded and sat on the bed, shyly peering at him over her glasses.

His nostrils flared. He hit the switch on the lamp, shrouding the room in darkness. He picked her up, making her squeal, and then pulled back the blankets and dropped her down. He grabbed her legs and brought them onto the bed roughly before bringing the blanket over her harshly. He rounded the bed and got in the other side bringing the blankets over him.

He propped himself up on his elbow, "What did you want?"

"I didn't want to sleep alone."

"So is this fulfilling everything you wanted?"

He could see her shrug her shoulder, "Fine, Penelope. If you're not going to tell me, then I'm going to go to sleep." He flipped onto his back.

She heard him take a deep breath and recognized he was purposely evening out his breathing. She felt like she couldn't move her body. She was paralyzed. She didn't trust herself to say anything because she was afraid she would spout out all of her feelings, and he was the one who didn't want to ruin their friendship. She thought he wanted her sometimes, but him being a little turned on and him actually liking her were different things. But this was their game, wasn't it? This was never real.

She moved closer towards him and picked his arm up, and then put her head on his chest and brought one leg over his. She placed her arm around his stomach and curled herself into him.

He calmed down and pulled her tighter into his side. "Penelope, I'm not sure who is making this more complicated, me or you, but I can tell you, I don't know what you want."

Penelope didn't know what he was talking about, what he was referring to. He wanted friendship and to still have their secret flirting because it was fun and entertaining. There was nothing else to discuss.

He felt her fidgeting and could almost hear her brain working. She didn't want to take a chance with him, not in the way he would do with her. He wasn't good at this relationship stuff, and he wasn't certain about the risk either, but, if she just said the word, he'd believe her. But if all she wanted was for him to fulfill the role of flirty friend, then he had to keep a boundary on that.

He let out a frustrated breath. "Good night, Penelope."

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Thanks for all the reviews, on anything, they make my day.


	11. Chapter 11

Someone told me that, once again, they didn't get their notification about my stories. So if you follow me and didn't get the notification; I posted a one-shot, called Meeting, about tonight's episode. If you don't care and are only here for this story, ignore that and please enjoy this. Thank you.

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Penelope was slowly stirring. She felt an arm wrapped around her middle. She glanced down and placed her own hand above his, as she sleepily yawned.

"You're awake early." His voice was right next to her ear.

"Am I? So we don't have to be up yet?"

"You've got a few minutes before the alarm." He was breathing the words onto her neck and it made her shiver. "Cold?"

"Uh yeah." She was pretty sure he knew that was a lie. It felt pretty hot right now.

He closed his eyes in annoyance. Even in the morning, after they'd spent the whole night in the same bed, she couldn't see that he was trying to open a door. Even if she only asked him to cuddle by actually saying the words, he could imagine how assured that would make him, "Well, I guess I can get you another blanket to use while I shower."

"Uh, no, no. I'll be fine. I'll just go down and get some hot tea."

"Sure, Penelope." His voice sounded exasperated, even first thing in the morning.

She closed her eyes. She knew they crossed a lot of boundaries with each other but at the same time they had plausible deniability, if anyone ever asked. Being cuddled up with your coworker sounds intimate but if you can honestly say nothing happened then... She was sure he knew how she felt about him and he never did anything about it. Maybe he had no objection to messing around but he obviously didn't want her to think it was anything more than friends, with a dash of something extra. But, that sounded better than nothing. Maybe it was the fog of the morning but she felt unafraid. Her normal fears seemed to still be asleep. She pursed her lips before speaking, "I guess you can keep me warm until I get up."

He leaned into her neck again, "I can do that." He disengaged his arm from around her and then pulled the covers up past their waists to their shoulders. He returned his hand to her middle.

Well, pulling the blankets up was helpful in the warmth department. She rolled her eyes at herself, wondering what exactly she was expecting. Until she felt his hand slip to her hip bone. Okay, maybe not.

He touched the skin that was supposed to be in between the waistband of her shorts and the bottom of her shirt, his hand froze, "Where are your-"

"Uh, I got a little tangled up and kicked them off." She felt him take a deep breath. She was cursing herself for waking up half asleep in the middle of the night and throwing her shorts off, leaving her in just underwear. She genuinely meant nothing by it, she did that a lot in the middle of the night when she got hot. Despite the Autumn temperatures outside, Luke seemed to keep her bed very warm.

He cleared his throat, "I see. No wonder you're cold now."

"Uh, yeah." She said quietly.

"You probably shouldn't sleep alone anymore if you plan on taking off your shorts. Your room gets colder than mine."

She was gripping the pillow with one hand, holding onto it to keep herself from turning around and straddling him. "Sounds like a plan to me."

He was suddenly more than willing to put his hands anywhere she wanted. His qualms about doing something only physical without really knowing how she felt had somehow dissipated in the early morning light. Probably nothing to do with the clarity of a new day and everything to do with her ass pushing against him.

That's when the alarm started going off. She froze. There was an alarm. An alarm to wake them up for work. Work they would be doing together. Work that they needed to get ready for. She had no idea what she was thinking. She couldn't do this. "Umm okay, I guess I'll shower first." She pushed the covers off and swiftly got out of the bed. She bent down to grab her shorts and walked out of the door without looking back.

He watched his door shut. She wanted him physically, but as soon as she had a reminder of who they really were she didn't want it anymore. He sighed, this was why he had chosen to stay clear of this. He put his hands behind his head, well at least she was showering first so he had a minute to calm himself. She bent over in front of him in just her underwear, she didn't plan that but he damn well looked. Another nice memory but apparently that was about it. He could play pretend. If that's what she wanted, that's what he'd let her have.

….

Everyone was sitting in the conference room together, Penelope had been sifting through some files with Reid. She had avoided eye contact with Luke ever since they got into the office. He was polite at breakfast and casually spoke to Nita. She was silent the entire car ride and so was he. When they got there he opened her door like always and as she greeted Derek, Luke went to grab coffee.

When they were in the group with the others, it didn't seem like he was going out of his way to avoid her. He hadn't made an effort to seek her out either. Now they were here in this small room with everyone, trying to sort out this nightmare of a case.

"We should take another approach to this. We've been trying to find this guy here because it was recent. Now that trail seems to be cold. So instead we're going to look at this as a whole. Why does an unsub target the team?" Prentiss asked.

"We're a challenge. They want to show us they're better." Luke answered.

"A Mr. Scratch wannabe?" Reid said.

"But for him we were a challenge. What about the Replicator, this could be a personal vendetta." JJ put in.

"What did those two have in common?" Simmons asked

"Not much. Their reasoning was completely different." Rossi stated.

"But they both wanted to prove they were superior, just for very different reasons." Tara interjected.

There was a moment of silence as they all contemplated, "Blake, Hotch, and me, are the only ones targeted so far, right? So what do we not have in common? I only worked with Hotch for a few months. I've never even met Blake so why us? Or at least, why us first? There has to be a reason, even if it's just convenience." Luke reasoned.

"Well, it's possible we left before we received anything, just timing." Prentiss said.

"Yeah, ours got lost in the mail." Rossi smirked.

"Alvez is right though. As Reid said before, that means this unsub hates all of the BAU, past and present. Or the alternative, there was a reason to target those three first. Otherwise there's an entirely different motive altogether." Derek looked around the room.

"Okay, this looks like the same unsub right, same type of photo, same timing it would be one hell of a coincidence if it's not. So who would care about what this team-" Luke's sentence was cut off when his phone started ringing. He looked at the number, recognizing the area code. "Alvez." He stayed silent as the person on the other line spoke. He signaled to Penelope to connect his phone to the office speaker, "Hold on Lupe, can you repeat that?"

"I really don't know if this is anything but, Antonia Morales came in to volunteer with us. She always comes for the knitting group. When she got here, it dawned on me, her granddaughter drops her off most nights. Sometimes she stays, or even attends church, but she's been around more lately. I remembered she asked about Nita's volunteer schedule months back because she wanted her grandmother to come at the same time."

"What is her name?" Prentiss questioned.

The new voice made Lupe pause but she realized it was another agent, "Well it's, Suzanna."

Luke sat back in his chair, "Suzanna Lopez?" Luke stood up, angry. "Right, her mother's maiden name was Morales. Thanks Lupe. Please keep this to yourself, we'll check it out."

Luke crossed his arms over his chest, not ready to speak yet. Penelope stood up, having been quiet the whole conversation. "Your ex-girlfriend?" She asked incredulously. Her eyes filled with fire.

Recognition dawned on everyone's face. Prentiss spoke first, "We don't know if this is something." She was trying to calm Penelope more than anything. "Let's talk to , JJ, Simmons."

Everyone watched Penelope pick up her laptop and walk out of the room. Prentiss nodded at the agents she'd indicated, they followed her.

The others were left behind, observing Luke, who ran his hand across his forehead. "I really hope that this, is not that." He put his hands on the back of a chair looking down at the table.

"But if it is, then is your grandmother really in danger? This could be a good thing." Tara tried to sort it out logically.

"She's right. Your ex didn't look too dangerous, she just looked," Rossi blinked before looking up at Luke. "Mean."

Luke chuckled, along with Reid and Tara. Luke pushed off the chair with his hands, exiting the room and heading towards Penelope's borrowed office. He stopped just outside of the door, hearing the voices from within, "Well if you need anymore help with anything let me know. I also know where they hide the good cookies." The tech guy that Penelope's temporary work space belonged to, was hitting on her.

"Thanks so much for the tea, can't believe you remembered how I like it." Penelope's sweet voice rang in Luke's ears, making him feel queasy at the kindness in it.

"No problem. Beautiful ladies like you, should never have to fetch their own tea." Luke heard Michael's voice turn proper.

Penelope started laughing as did Michael, "Hey, Garcia, need you for a sec." Luke was now standing in the doorway. He was attempting to suppress his jealousy.

Michael looked between the two of them before giving a polite nod as he slid past Luke, out of the room.

"What?" Penelope asked, no anger just exhaustion in her voice.

"Penelope, if she has done something I wouldn't know why. All it's going to do is make me dislike her more than I already do. That's it."

"Sure, okay." Penelope was shuffling things around on her desk, not sure what she was thinking other than, she was angry at Suzanna, scared for Nita and worried about Luke.

"Penelope..." He moved around her, sitting on her desk in front of her, forcing her to look up at him.

"Do you like someone? " Penelope gave him an inquisitive look. "You know like, is there someone that you go out with?"

He tilted his head at the non-sequitur. "What do you-do you mean, like, am I dating someone?"

"Yeah, okay."

He almost chuckled, "No Chica, you _know_ I'm not." He couldn't believe this was an actually question she would ask. Was she not in bed this morning? Was that a dream that he made up while his brain was struggling to become alert?

She shrugged, "Nita told me to ask you. She thought you might need someone to talk to about it." Penelope said shyly as she fidgeted with the pom pom on top of her pencil.

Luke chuckled, shaking his head. Seeing his Grandmother's game and laughing that Penelope took the bait. She'd never have suspected the kindly old woman, that she'd become overnight friends with, was manipulating her. "I'm not seeing anyone but if you must know, I do still need someone to talk to."

"Yeah? About what?" She glanced up at him before returning to her pencil.

He shook his head, "There is no what, Hotshot. I need you to talk to about everything. So don't think that I don't need you through this, I do. Girlfriend or not."

She tilted her head to look at him, not sure if his words made sense, but sure that he was still her friend despite how she'd been acting. "I just want to say I'm sorry about the other day when I got to meet 'oh Suzanna.'" She rolled her eyes. Making him turn his lips in, attempting not to laugh, "But she wasn't very nice to me. I tried to smile at her and then Nita told her something in Spanish and she got this scary look on her face. So I don't want you to think that I'm being mean just because she's pretty. I'm not like that. She was just mean to me first, is all." She shyly looked up at him.

"I know. It's okay." He nodded. "And you're very pretty too." He stood up from the desk and kissed her forehead before ambling towards the door. "And you're not even mean." She turned to smile at him, "Most of the time." He added before giving her a huge beam. He quickly shut the door as he saw her pom pom pencil flying his way.

"Uh Newbie!" She said to the computer in front of her. But she giggled as she went to retrieve her pencil.

….

Suzanna was in an interrogation room. They'd just asked her to come by to answer some questions. She was already annoyed but they'd surmised that was kind of just her personality. Everyone except Penelope was standing on the other side of the two way mirror. They were all curious and with this being their only lead they all watched as JJ and Prentiss went in to talk to her.

"Suzanna, we just have a few questions for you. How well do you know Luke Alvez's Grandmother?" Prentiss queried.

Suzanna glared at the table, "Yeah you said she might be in trouble and I told you I don't know anything about that. She's a nice lady. I've known her since I was a kid, much like I know everyone else in the neighborhood." She was a little snotty but had uncrossed her arms which had been in front of her chest.

"Okay, great, so would you know about her day to day life? The church and the community center?" JJ asked sweetly.

Suzanna sat up in the chair awkwardly, "Yeah, I guess. My Abuela does the same thing, she always has. Now my other Grandmother is here too. She goes most of the same places as well." Her eyes had darted from one agent to the other.

"Fair enough. So you'd say that she'd be fairly safe with anyone who knew her around here? No one that sticks out to you that might have a reason, a vendetta of some sort?" Prentiss quizzed.

"No, no." She shook her head but she was nervous. Her eyes moved to the table before she looked to the mirror behind them, wondering if Luke was back there. The group behind the mirror looked at him as he observed her movements. All of them knowing she was lying about something. She took a deep breath, her eyes suddenly sad, "Do you think she is really in trouble?" Her question was sincere.

Both Emily and JJ relaxed, trying to show her some kindness, "We think it's a real possibility. Someone has at least stalked her for some time." Prentiss answered gently.

Suzanna sat back up, biting her lip as she thought, "Can I talk to Luke?" She asked as kindly as she could manage.

JJ looked to Prentiss, they communicated silently before JJ stood up, "I'll see if he's available." She opened the door and shut it behind her before speaking to Luke, "You don't have to."

He nodded, "I know." He exchanged places with her and entered the room taking the seat next to Emily that JJ just vacated. "What is it Suze?" He had no anger in his voice, no sadness, or kindness, he was devoid of emotion as he asked.

She scanned his face up and down multiple times before glancing at Emily and back to him, "I don't know, not really. Some guy at Mirasol's cafe, I was there on break, just grabbing coffee. He asked me if I knew you. I thought it was weird, but if he was a friend of yours…" She drifted off before looking up at him again, sadness in her eyes, "Look all he said was that he wanted you to move back and that if I told him about your Grandmother he'd be able to convince you to come home. I didn't know, I just thought that he was a friend of yours who wanted you back here as much as-as much - and that he was just trying to guilt you into it or something." She shrugged her shoulders, studying the tabletop in front of her, a tear threatening to drop.

He sat completely impassive as he'd listened to her, "What's his name. What does he look like?"

"He said his name was Tom. White guy, tall, not as tall as you. He had on an ugly flannel shirt even though it was summer and that's sort of all I remember. It was an hour of my life at a cafe. I genuinely didn't think about it at the time." Luke nodded, getting up to leave.

"We need you to write down everything you remember." Prentiss said as she slid a notepad over to her.

"Luca." He paused, with his hand on the doorknob. He turned his head, his face expressionless, "High school was a long time ago but, you never even said goodbye to anyone." She was trying to speak as composed as she could, "You never cared about any of us, all the girls-all the other girls. You never took us seriously because your plan was always to leave. It's our fault for thinking we'd change that. I know you didn't mean to hurt any of us, but it doesn't mean you didn't."

She let the tears fall, looking to Emily, notifying him that she was done speaking. He turned the doorknob, opening the door. She remembered one last thing, finding the most solid voice she could muster, "If you're finally in love, you should really tell her." He froze, with his back to her, door half opened. He took a moment before shutting the door behind him and looking at the agents in front of him.

All of them turned their wide eyed gazes to him, silently waiting for him to speak. He took a deep breath, "Mirasol's is a small place, I doubt they have any cameras. The family that owns it has been there forty years and they live above it." He addressed the room as simply as he always had.

Rossi nodded, "We'll go chat with them." He patted Spencer on the arm and nodded to Tara. The three of them left.

Luke looked at Derek, then JJ, and finally to Matt, "I'm going to leave early. I need to go explain this to my Abuela. Tell Prentiss I'll come back in if she needs me." He nodded at them before leaving.

JJ opened her eyes wide as she looked at Derek, "Wow."

"That's one way to put it."

"Do you think he'll…" Matt drifted off.

Derek and JJ looked at each other again, neither of them really knowing the answer. They both sighed as they observed Suzanna write down what she knew.

* * *

Thank you for all the support, reviews, favs. All of it.

Please excuse me if I haven't gotten back to you on something. I'm doing physical therapy for that shoulder injury so sometimes I can't manage as much in one day as I'd like.


	12. Chapter 12

I know I've been a bit behind on updating, I've been working on multiple stories but I'll try to stick to a better schedule. Thanks for the support on any of the stories of mine you might be following. It is always appreciated in any form.

Luke had been home for a few hours already. He was trying to explain the whole thing to his grandmother, but he didn't understand it himself. He didn't understand how he got here. He never thought this is where he would end up - someone targeting his family, an ex-girlfriend who didn't seem to mind if she helped, and most of all a best friend that he didn't know if he should want to be more than she already was to him.

Nita made an early dinner as Luke tried to dissect the new information he'd been given. "Mijo, no te preocupes. It's still not your fault."

"I know, Ma. She's always been a bully, but this?"

"She's not a nice girl, never was, but I don't think she wanted to hurt you. I think she wanted your attention." She put her hand over his. "Pero mira, she is right. You never wanted to hurt anybody, but you let those girls chase you anyway. Instead of looking behind you, you were looking ahead. There is nothing wrong with that, but you didn't think of their feelings because you're blind to love."

"I-I'm not blind to it. I've never been in love. No time."

She put her hand up to stop him. "Mijo, that's what I mean. You were not worried about it. I'd like to think it's because your soul knew not to waste your time. It does not mean that everyone else was as lucky as you. Most young people at least fall in puppy love, you never did."

"I cared. I even cared a little about her."

"Si pero, not too much. When you broke up, you sat in your room for one afternoon before spending the whole summer training and playing soccer and never thought about it again. Then the next girl asked you out, and you go to the movies, the park, whatever, and date her until it's done. Your one afternoon of sadness might have been a month for them. There is no excuse for her then or now, but she was hurt, and it's okay that she felt that way." She nodded at her grandson before putting her hand on his cheek. He leaned into it.

"I think I understand. I guess I just thought that's how it was. Maybe that's why I'm not too concerned about being alone. No one has ever been in my mind or heart for very long."

"And when it happens, what you'll have to give will be so special, and you will be so good for her. I promise."

"Thank you, Abuelita."

"Abuelita? You make me sound old!" She laughed. "There is one thing Suzanna was right about." She gave him a satisfied smile. "You _should_ tell Penelope."

He stared at her wide eyed, but he recovered as he watched her start the cleanup of the kitchen."Ma, I don't know if that's what it is."

"It is. I see it." Her eyes held deep emotion as she gave him a stern look. "And you know it."

He sighed knowing there was no use in lying to his grandmother. "What if she doesn't see it the same way? I don't want to lose her, or this job. I have to put both on the line if I…"

"Yes. Yes, you do, and you should." She was spooning leftovers into a bowl to cover them.

He stared at her, dumbfounded. "I should risk everything?"

"Si." She nodded fervently. "Some people are stupid. They risk everything all the time, every time. They think it's love. They throw their whole lives away, estúpido. But when it's really worth finding out, sometimes risking everything es mas importante than never knowing. I don't want you to get hurt, pero, if you did, at least you would know." She shrugged as she continued putting away dishes in the fridge.

….

"Garcia, can you give Director Logan a copy of the reports we pulled on local petty crimes." Prentiss asked as she returned to the conference room where Penelope was sitting with the rest of the team.

The field director smiled at her politely from his place behind Prentiss. "Don't want to cause you too much trouble, but, since Agent Prentiss said you've found a pattern of higher crimes recently, it's something we should look into."

"No trouble." Penelope hit a few keys. "Did you want it emailed?"

"Mind sending it to the printer?" he asked with a chuckle. "I'm not the best with technology. I need a hard copy to really see it. Don't worry, I recycle."

Penelope smiled at him, while Spencer spoke up. "It is about a twenty percent increase in petty crimes in just a five block radius, almost unheard of. You most likely have a gang of some kind operating in this area that wasn't here before." Spencer never let his eyes fall from the pages of reports he was scanning through.

Director Logan's eyes were wide as he listened. "Right. Well, I will look into that and coordinate with the local P.D. to see if they've heard of anything." He turned to Emily. "You sure this has nothing to do with your guy?"

"Unlikely, our team was targeted here and in other places. Petty crimes in a small neighborhood are not this guy's M.O." The director nodded and walked away. "Alright, it's late. Let's call it for the night. I'm going to go check in with Luke. We should probably take these mug shots over, just in case, to see if Nita recognizes anyone."

The team all got up to leave, saying their goodnights to Penelope and Emily. "Maybe I should let Alvez have time alone with Nita," Penelope said as she packed up her laptop.

Emily spun around to gather some of the mugshots into a file. "That's up to you." She suppressed a giggle as she saw Penelope pick up her phone from the corner of her eye.

….

Luke wandered up to his room after his talk with his grandmother. He leaned against the wall looking out the window at the tall, old tree. He realized how right she was. He could barely recollect being sad about Suzanna, let alone anyone else. She had been the first girl he'd slept with. He didn't think too much about it. She had asked, and he said yes. He was respectful before, during, and after, but to him it was never a big deal. They stayed together for a few months. Sometimes she would climb in his room, and sometimes she didn't. After they broke up, he dated other girls with much the same arrangement.

He recognized the pattern now, seeing that he'd done that most of his life. The Rangers left little time to fraternize, but, when he did, it was always brief. If he'd hurt those few women he'd seen over the years, he wasn't aware of it. He'd thought he always left on good terms, but now he wasn't sure. He wondered how he was a profiler now if he was so unaware of these feelings. Derek had agreed with him. Where there is emotion, there is cloudiness, and maybe he wasn't stone after all.

His phone buzzed. He walked away from the window to his nightstand, picking it up, reading the text, and smiling before texting back.

 **P: We're done for the day. I can just go to the hotel so you can have some time with Nita.**

 **L: Abuela made you food already.**

 **P: I could eat it tomorrow.**

 **L: Okay, Hotshot. Just one more thing. You going to sleep in your heels and cardigan?**

 **P: Oh yeah.**

He smiled at his phone. She'd obviously left her stuff in anticipation of continuing to stay there.

 **L: Plus, I'm pretty sure I told you we shouldn't sleep alone anymore. Did you forget that?**

 **P: No sir.**

He smirked. Whatever was happening had already been happening. But talking about it was going to make it real, and he had no idea how to take away his ability to hide behind whatever game they had been playing. Luke sat on his bed and ran his hands through his hair. If he never told her anything, he seriously doubted this feeling would ever go away, but, assuming it did, he would still never know why they were playing this game in the first place. He wasn't sure if he could live with never knowing the answer to that. Penelope was his best friend. He knew her well enough to know she wouldn't be comfortable being vulnerable with just anybody, and that had to mean something. But here he was again, still unsure what it could mean, and that was the part that made him apprehensive.

He wandered downstairs again. Nita was in front of the tv, knitting and watching some late night teen comedy even though he couldn't fathom why she would bother. "Penelope should be here soon. They are done for the day. I don't know if there are any more developments."

"Are you going to talk to her?" She continued to knit, not looking at him as he took a seat on the couch.

"Not tonight. I don't think that it's a good time with everything going on."

She put her knitting down. "It is a good time, mijo. Now is always the best time." She stared him down. "You've had enough time to get to know her. She is your best friend. Don't waste any more of your time or hers. Entiendes?" She didn't wait for an answer.

They heard a knock on the door, and Luke swiftly got up to open it. "Frank!" Nita said from behind her grandson.

"Oh. Hi, Mr. Lopez," Luke greeted the older man and nodded to agent Mannon, who was aware that this man was a neighbor but was still cautiously standing behind him as he knocked.

"Jeremy, you need some more coffee?" Nita addressed the agent behind her neighbor.

"No, thank you. I'm still alright." He smiled politely.

Frank spoke to Nita. "I know you are going through a lot right now. Those agents came to talk to me and all, so I wanted to bring some vegetables by. I didn't know if you had a chance to go to the farmer's market with all the commotion." He smiled at Nita as she accepted the basket. "Luke, so glad to see you home. Your Abuela misses you, but she always tells us how good you are doing."

"Thank you, Mr. Lopez. I miss her too."

"Frank, would you like to come in? I have some fresh dulce de coco. I just made them." Nita smiled at the man.

They heard the suv pull up, and Penelope and Emily were exiting the car. "No, Nita. You've got too much going on, but I'll be happy to come by when it's all over with."

Luke squinted at Frank and then his grandmother as she shyly waved at him. Nita retreated into the house to set the basket down. Luke saw Emily greet Frank on the sidewalk, as Penelope made her way to him. He saw Penelope shiver, so he let her step through and then shut the door nodding to Prentiss that she could come in when she was finished. "You're cold." He wrapped her in his arms, running his hands up and down her back as she stood there. "Where's your coat?"

"It was sunny earlier!" she protested. He shook his head and smiled at her, and then he placed a kiss to her forehead. Both of them stayed still as he did so.

Until they heard Nita came down the stairs. "Mijo, take her to the kitchen, and heat her some food." She hugged Penelope, then watched her grandson lead her away.

Prentiss lightly knocked. Nita opened the door immediately. "Oh good. I need to ask you a favor."

"Yes, ma'am. What is it?"

"Can I stay in the hotel tonight?"

"Absolutely. As I said, I'd still feel safer with you there." Emily was smiling politely.

"Good, but can we leave them here?" she said conspiratorially.

Prentiss' mouth opened, unsure what to say. She blinked. "Uh… Uh, well, I suppose so." She furrowed her brow. "Did they ask for that?"

"No, no. Of course not. Too stubborn." She threw her hands up. "Can you say you are taking me somewhere and then we just don't come back?" she asked it slyly, almost as if she were a child.

Prentiss was trying her hardest not to laugh. "This is very much against protocol." She looked at Nita and thought about her friends. Being the boss was annoying sometimes, having to tow a line, but she loved them, and she could see Nita's point. "Well, I did want to ask you about Mirasol's and maybe show you some mug shots of men in the area that have been involved in petty crimes. The plan was to do that tomorrow, but..."

"No. No time to waste." She'd found her opening. She pointed to the top of the stairs where her bag was packed already. Prentiss nodded, a wide grin on her face as she climbed the steps. She grabbed the bag, opened the door, and handed it to Mannon for safekeeping.

Nita led her down the hall to the kitchen. Luke and Penelope were sitting at the table. He was stealing little pieces of her pastry as she slapped his hand out of the way. "Alvez, I was going to take Nita to look at some mug shots, just in case she recognized anyone, but actually I think it would be a good idea to drive her by the community center right now. The events she attended were at night, and I was thinking it might give a different perspective if we went by there around the same time." Prentiss was good at her job, but she was trying her hardest not to blink as she attempted to keep a straight face.

Luke's face scrunched up in question, but he answered quickly. "Okay, I'll go grab my stuff." He stood up.

"No. No, uh... You need to stay here. We can't leave Penelope, and she's already off for the night and eating dinner. Really, it's no trouble. I'll call you if there is anything we need. You have a car here, so you can meet us if need be."

"It's only a few blocks, mijo." She walked to him and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. Then she gave one to Penelope, before walking down the hall smirking. Prentiss followed her with a smile of disbelief on her face.

"Was that weird?" Penelope asked finally, bringing him out of his trance.

His eyes were still locked on the hallway where he'd just seen the two women disappear. He sat back down, glancing to her plate, grabbing the rest of her food, and shoving it in his face before answering. "I think it was kind of weird, but, if Prentiss thinks that will help..." He shrugged it off. He picked up her plate and set it in the sink.

After Penelope heard the front door close, she sat back in her chair. "Look, I'm sorry about his morning."

"What about it?"

"You know..."

"No, Penelope. I have no idea."

"I shouldn't have made this - I crossed a line, and I'm sorry."

Luke let out an exhausted breath. "Yeah. Well, we do that sometimes."

"Right, I know, but I went too far. Just because we're two single adults in a bed doesn't mean that..."

He shrugged. "Right. Well, if that's how you feel." If he told her that he loved her, and she still felt that way, so be it. If she reciprocated, then their physical affection would definitely be nothing to apologize for. "Is that how you feel?"

She studied the table top as he started to rinse her plate. "Well, I- Yeah, of course. I don't want to do anything that makes anybody feel uncomfortable."

Luke was slowly turning the plate in circles under the water. "So you felt uncomfortable?"

"Well, no," she said in a low voice.

"So, you just assume I did?" He chanced a peek at her out of the corner of his eye and could see the apprehension on her face.

"Well, I'm not sure how else you're supposed to feel."

"I didn't feel uncomfortable, Penelope. I'm never uncomfortable with you. I think we've pushed boundaries more than a few times. How many times have you let Matt order you to -" He saw her flinch out of the corner of his eye. "Right. It's okay to do, but not okay to talk about." He cleared his throat.

She closed her eyes as she breathed deeply. "Luke, it's not that. I'm just not sure why you would want to talk about it. I mean does it matter?"

It did. It all mattered. Their friendship and their more than friendship - it all mattered. He was going to have to have to take the reins, and that's what he was going to do. "You're right. Leave it alone. Want to hang out in my room?"

"Are we on a playdate?" She smiled. "But Luke, really, I'm sor-"

"I told you to leave it alone. Maybe tonight is a good night to learn to listen to me the first time I tell you do something." His eyes were dark.

She took a deep breath, "Yes, sir."

He wanted to chuckle. This was ridiculous. He truly couldn't get her to be emotionally vulnerable, but she somehow couldn't pretend when he changed the tone. He was too nervous. If he was going to take everyone's advice and talk to her, this was the opportunity to do so. "Just thought, if you weren't tired, we could hang out."

She shrugged. "Sure. I'm going to change first. My feet are killing me." She'd already started down the hall. He was a step behind her, raising his finger to give her an 'ah ha,' but she stopped him. "Do not even say it, Mr. Know It All." He shook his head and followed her up the stairs.

* * *

I rated this T, I have no idea why. I always planned on making this M. I am changing the rating, so if anyone has been following and does not want to anymore, I apologize. If you P.M. me I would be happy to share the edited version of the rest of the story. (BTW I really shouldn't rate anything I do T. Fog started that way but it won't end that way either.)


	13. Chapter 13

Sorry for the delay. I was in the emergency room this weekend so that put a bit of a damper on things.

Thanks for sticking around. I enjoy all of your support!

 **Attention:** This is an M rated fic, not T. That was my mistake. This contains smut. If you want the T version then please PM me and I will send it to you.

* * *

When Penelope got to the top of the stairs, she entered the guest bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Luke went to his own room to change into a t-shirt and sweatpants. He laid back on his bed waiting for her. He felt distinctly nervous. He was supposed to talk to her about real feelings, not just skip around the subject but actually talk to her. And for all he knew, she was going to run and hide and pretend it never happened.

"Hey, what is with the shower by the way? When I was getting ready this morning, it got cold, then hot, then cold, and then it was fine." She spoke casually as she entered his room, sitting on the edge of the bed.

He did a great imitation of a fish as he closed and opened and closed his mouth again. He was examining the low dip of her shirt. Instead of being off her shoulder like it had been in previous nights, now it was hanging low. Since it was a cut-up shirt, he assumed it probably ripped the more she used it. He brought his eyes up to her face. "Umm yeah, it's always done that. Just stick your hand under it until it levels off."

She narrowed her eyes at him when she noticed that he was staring at her. She glanced down after he'd spoken and realized how leaning on one hand made her chest almost visible. The old shirt she'd cut to be a comfy nightshirt was hanging dangerously low. She straightened up, pulling it over her shoulder. She never thought about it since she had only ever worn it while alone. She simpered, seemingly quite pleased that he'd been so distracted. "Right, I'll do that."

He observed her face and the satisfied beam that came across it when she recognized what he'd done. He smirked. She enjoyed making him squirm. "Penelope, lay down with me." He put his palm out to her.

She didn't take it. Instead she moved herself up the bed while he scooted over to make room. His arm was on her pillow, so she put her head right underneath it. He was on his back with his head turned slightly towards her. "Why did you never get married?" he asked her. "Are you afraid of commitment?"

She tilted her chin up to eyeball him. "That's a fine question coming from you, Mr. I Only Love My Dog."

"She's cute though."

"She is."

"But seriously, Penelope." He caught her eye and maintained contact waiting for her reply.

She took a deep breath. "I've been asked, but I didn't want to."

"To be married?"

"To be asked but - none of the guys I've dated have been _the guy_. I just never felt the way I was supposed to."

"So it wasn't serious? Was anyone serious?"

"I-I guess not, not really." She was sort of taken aback by that revelation. She was in her thirties, had plenty of relationships, but yet not a serious one.

"So it's the commitment?"

"No, I was loyal. I dated most of my exes for years. It just- it wasn't right." She shrugged.

"How would you know if it is right?"

She rested her head further on his arm while she pondered. "Well, how do you know it's right?"

"You're asking me? You know I have no clue about these things. I'm trying to learn."

"Why?" She was honestly confused as she pulled her head back to get a view of his whole face.

He flipped onto his side, facing her more directly. "I want to know how to-" His phone buzzed on the nightstand. He leaned over her to grab it. She swallowed as he brushed her body with his arm, bringing the phone to his side.

He checked the text. He was confused, but, after he read it again, he smiled. The FBI truly did miss out on a good agent by not just recruiting his grandmother. He reached back over Penelope and set the phone back down on the nightstand.

Her breath hitched again, and she closed her eyes, willing her body to not get too worked up. He got back into his comfy position on his side and brought his hand to her waist, letting it sit there as he spoke. "I want to know how to do this whole love thing. I'm a late starter, and I don't want to do it all wrong."

"We all do it wrong sometimes. It's not something you can study and ace. You have to really want it, and then you have to work really hard for it. That's my problem. I didn't want it enough."

"And what would make you want it, the work and all the hard stuff? What's the thing that makes it different?" His eyes were intimately studying her face.

She could've sworn she'd seen his pupils darken. "I wish I knew the answ-" She swallowed. No, that would be a lie. She already did know the answer, and it was currently laying next to her. "I think it just has to be the guy that makes me want to risk my heart. For real, all in." She was staring at the spot on his chest where the v in his shirt met his skin.

"Yeah, I think I understand that finally." He grabbed her hand, playing with her fingers, tapping them lightly with his. "What does that guy have to do in order to be _the_ guy?" He moved his head closer to her on the pillow.

She took a deep breath. What was it about him that made her feel like this? "I think it's just sort of a feeling, and it's inexplicable. There's always been reasons why I liked one person or another, but I can give a dozen reasons to like almost anybody, but to want someone entirely- that's- that's the thing inside of you that just knows."

"Oddly, I understand exactly what you're saying. I want that too." He moved an inch closer to her.

His scent was engulfing her, and she was squeezing her legs. She breathed deeply, feeling the heat in her cheeks, feeling dizzy despite laying perfectly still. "Well, I hope you find what you're looking for."

"Penelope," Luke whispered her name, moving his hand from her waist to the side of her face, bringing her eyes up to look at him. "I need to tell you something. And unfortunately, the one thing I can't order you to do is how to feel about it."

She nodded slowly. "Oh, okay."

He put his palm flat on the bed and closed his eyes momentarily, breathing her in for a moment. The familiarity of his friend being right next to him gave him the courage to speak. "I think I'm in love with you. If that's not something you want, tell me. I'll understand, but please don't run away from me because I still want to be your friend."

Her eyes were wide as the words processed through her brain. "Luke, I- I- I-" She felt a head rush. Her words were unable to come out. She scanned his eyes for the sincerity she already knew was there, and she leaned in, kissing his lips as hard as she could.

He closed his eyes immediately, kissing her back as intensely as she was kissing him. He brought one hand up to her face and the other to her back, pulling her closer to him. She mewed as he did so. After a few more moments, they both pulled away to study each other. He saw the surprise still etched on her face, but he had no idea what a passionate kiss meant. "Penelope, if you just want to sleep together, you need to tell me now because I don't think I can do that."

Her words were still stuck. She shook her head trying to release them, "No. I am very in love with you. I can't just do that either. Either we're just friends or we're-"

"Everything? Can we just be everything?" He was scrutinizing her lips, willing the words she'd just spoken to come out again.

She felt her whole body vibrating with emotion, "Yes! Oh my God, yes."

He watched her face as he spoke. "I love you." His face was more intense than she'd ever seen it.

"I love you," she whispered in disbelief.

Luke's eyes darkened. He didn't want to waste time. They had had nothing but foreplay up until now. He found the hem of her shirt, putting his hand underneath, running it up her sides to her chest, finding her braless, and moving his hand over her nipple.

"Huh-uh." She couldn't contain herself. Her moans started as soon as he ran his hand back again. She'd felt the immediate increase of pulsing between her legs. She wasn't entirely certain, but she'd bet a significant amount that he could make her come just by staring at her the way he was now.

He hadn't moved again. He wanted to make sure she was okay with what he was planning on doing. Her breathing was already harsh just from his one hand moving across her skin. As if reading his mind, she pulled at the bottom of his shirt to let him know to take it off. He growled at her. He pulled the shirt off of his body and then did the same to hers. She couldn't remember sitting up to help. She only remembered the feel of his bare chest on hers as he was on his knees, holding her by the back of her head, kissing her breathless. He let go of her, sliding down to pull off her shorts, and grabbing her underwear with them. He stood up, pulled off his sweats and underwear, kicking them to the side.

Penelope's eyes widened as she came back to the moment, realizing what was happening and watching him kneel back on the bed, pulling her legs apart roughly. She moaned at the sight of him doing so and of him taking charge. He was staring at her core. She was almost confused until he spoke. "I can see how wet you are." He looked up at her, informing her of what he'd found.

"Uh, yeah. Pretty much anytime I look at you." She almost waited for him to laugh at her or give a self-satisfied smirk, but instead she got a hand gripping her thigh as his other hand guided himself into her. She hadn't even realized it until she could feel the pleasurable pain of him stretching her out. "Oh my-uh-" She grabbed onto his back as he was now looming over her.

He leaned into her, bringing his face close to hers almost in a form of intimidation by the way he was sneering at her. "Holy hell, I didn't think I could love you more, but I think I just did." Hearing his words, she tried to push her hips up, wanting him to start moving. Her body begged for him to give her what she needed, but he kept his hips down, holding her in place. "Wait," he commanded.

"But I want it," she simpered.

He groaned as she did so. "You're really are not good at listening, are you?"

She bit her lip and shook her head 'no' as she tried to move her hips again.

He growled at her again, catching her lips and finally driving into her harshly and frantically.

Her fingernails were already digging into his back as he moved inside of her. She let one hand travel further down, trying to push his hips closer to her body to create more friction. He stopped her and grabbed her hand, pinning her arm next to her head. "Please, please." She felt like she would cry if he didn't give her what she needed. His one hand still holding her arm down and holding himself up, he brought his other hand behind her, grabbing onto her butt, tilting her hips back, and slamming his hips into her from the different angle he'd created. Both of them moaning at the sensation. "Luke-" The next thing he heard were loud moans and maybe even a scream, but he wasn't sure as he was too busy watching her come.

As he saw her finish and try to catch her breath but unable to open her eyes, he came inside of her. She moaned again, and his own moans sounded more desperate than he'd ever remembered. He pulled away and was sitting back on the his heels, his hands on her thighs, steadying himself. She was out of breath, her eyes closed as she was recovering. Her eyes were barely slits as she tried to look at him. "That- that was-" He couldn't form the words yet.

"Yeah." She agreed anyway.

"Is that what it feels like when you're in love?" His question was genuine.

"I think so." She was trying to catch her breath. Her hands were over her breasts, grasping on to them as if she needed to ground herself.

"We didn't even- we didn't even touch each other yet - there wasn't any- any foreplay- we just-" His breath was still ragged, and his face befuddled.

"I- it was so easy," she said.

They kept eye contact as they were both winding down. Then smiles broke out on both of their faces. "Maybe we should've taken some time before we just-" He wasn't sure what he was trying to say.

"I don't need anymore time. All I've done is think about being with you. I just assumed you liked being friends, and I accepted that."

"I accepted it too. I need to be friends with you, and I wasn't sure what to do about this." He motioned back and forth between them. "But I'm glad we did. Can we just promise one thing? Can we just always be friends no matter what?" Penelope saw the sincerity in his eyes.

"We can absolutely promise that. I need to know that too."

"But we're also everything now, right?" He smiled as he repeated his own words from earlier, pleased with his romantic side.

She nodded. "Yes, please."

He laughed at her, a wide smile covering his face. "We're both very naked right now having this conversation."

"I can put clothes on if you-" She attempted to move.

He grabbed her wrists, pinning them to the bed by her hips. "No." He leaned over her, coming close to her face.

She squinted. "Are you bossing me around?"

"Yes." He spoke the word clearly without thought. He was fixated on her chest before realizing he did need to make sure she was okay with that in the bedroom. A game outside of this was one thing, but that didn't mean that she was actually okay with that in every capacity. "If that's okay, of course."

Her eyes darkened with a desire that she was aware existed mostly because of him, but had yet to come to fruition. "Yes. That's more than okay." She felt a flush come over her entire body as she bit her lip.

He leaned over, narrowing his eyes at her. "We are really about to have a good time." His voice was deep and husky, and she felt it in the pit of her belly. Still holding her wrists, he used his knees to spread her legs. His nostrils flaring as he stared at her, commanding eye contact before moving one hand down to her clit and rubbing at the neglected place that was now making her squirm. He braced his knees inside of her legs, making her stay still. "Don't move."

She continued to bite her lip, nodding at him with the most innocent face of anyone he'd ever seen, especially in such a position. He continued to rub. As he built up the pressure, he could see her trying her hardest to keep still. When he saw her chest start moving rapidly up and down, he moved down her body until his mouth landed where his hand had just been. He grasped both of her wrists again as he flicked his tongue a few times until she came. He held her legs down with his as she lost control of her body, attempting to toss herself as she moaned.

"Want to come again?" he asked as he pulled his fingers out of her mouth.

"Hmm-mmm" was her only answer. Her eyes were drunk with pleasure as she tried to focus on his face. She almost didn't recognize him. There was a ferocity on his face she never had seen before. He was always calm and collected, and, even when he was a little angry, he would climb down from the energy quickly and remain mostly impassive, except for laughter.

He began placing wet kisses all over her chest, leaving the air to give her a chill after he'd vacate a spot. He tongued her nipples and grabbed her breasts, firmly clasping them as he moved from one to the other before once again placing wet kisses all over them. He pulled back swiftly. "Turn over."

She almost hesitated. She never much liked herself in that position, and also this was their first time. She thought maybe she would need to ease into letting him see her. While she was typically comfortable in her own skin, this was still new, and he was still the hottest thing she'd ever seen, which would've been intimidating if she didn't see the fierceness in his eyes as he waited for her to obey. As she made to do what he'd told her, he got off the bed, reaching next to his nightstand. He grabbed the handcuffs he'd had in his bag. She heard the clink of them and looked at him in shock. "Wha-"

"If you want to know what I'm going to do, you have to let me do it." He gave her a smug leer. She bit her lip again. She did want to know what he was going to do, so she quietly waited for him to continue. In any other situation, his self-satisfied smirk would make her angry. In this one, it turned her on. She was on her hands and knees, but he wanted her hands close to the headboard. He put one wrist in the cuffs. "Down." She slid down so she was supporting herself on her forearms. He hooked the cuffs around one of the pillars of the headboard and then slid the other wrist in them.

He got behind her on the bed. She could feel the mattress dip as he did, but there was no movement for a few moments. She turned her head as much as she could to see what he was doing. He'd been admiring their combined juices as they streamed down her inner thighs while stroking himself. When he saw her watching him, he leered at her again. "Don't worry. I'm coming." He moved closer to her. "And so are you." He grabbed her butt, leaning in close and placing a bite on one cheek. She moaned at the feeling of it. She had no idea that a bite on her fleshy butt cheek could elicit such an intense pleasure. He harshly gripped the cheek he'd just bitten, playing with it as he bit the other one. She'd already been wet from their earlier activities, but she was sure she felt a new gush of liquid between her thighs. He swiftly moved up, entering her forcefully and startling her. She lurched forward on her arms, her forehead on the mattress.

"Oh- oh my- gah" was all she got out because he started thrusting in her quickly as he reached around and grabbed her breasts, holding onto them as his hips pushed into her.

"Open your legs, Baby." He wanted her further down so he could get a deeper angle. She moaned at the command and attempted to slide her knees further apart.

Immediately she felt him hitting the spot inside of her that she needed. Her arms and legs were shaking. "Luke, oh- uh, Luke." She felt the build up, her legs quaking, feeling like they were going to give way. Soon the familiar vibration deep inside her started to slowly circle out. He could feel it coming. She tried to brace herself, but she lost her train of thought, her mind going blank as the sensation overwhelmed her whole body. "Ahh-" She cut off her own scream by biting the pillow in front of her face, the one that smelled like him. She lost any stamina she might have had left. She kept her face down, her arms exhausted and unable to push up on them anyway. Her legs barely staying up, she didn't realize he'd wrapped his arms around her waist holding her up.

He was waiting for her to recover. Once he believed she was stable enough, he reached to unlock the cuffs from one wrist and bring the other hand around. "On your knees." She tried to look at him, but she had no energy. She numbly moved off the bed and knelt on the ground beside it. He nodded and reached behind her, cuffing her other wrist again, her hands locked behind her resting on her butt. She was breathing harshly, her eyes barely open. He stood in front of her, bringing his hand to the side of her face. "You okay?" She barely nodded. "Can you come again?"

"Hu- no." She wasn't even sure she would ever in speak in full sentences again. She was sure that her brain was actual mush now.

"You want me to come?" She nodded, hoping he wasn't expecting her at her best right now. She felt him inch closer to her, brushing her lips with the tip of his cock. She parted her lips for him slightly. He took the invitation, pushing into her mouth slowly so he could watch himself disappear between her lips. He was moaning at the feel of her mouth. Some of her lipstick was still on. He realized they'd barely even kissed. He would remedy that soon, but right now he was going to use the visual of every time she had bright bold lipstick on at the office and him now knowing exactly what it felt like to be between them. He started pushing in and out of her mouth a little faster. He brought his hand to the back of her head. She felt her core get wet again. How that was possible she had no idea. She sat up straighter on her knees excited. He growled at her actions and brought both hands to the back of her head, gripping her hair as he moved. She felt him as he made a low guttural sound that she hoped she could hear for the rest of her life. "Penelope," he half moaned half wailed. She felt him spill into her mouth, and she started swallowing around him as soon as it hit her throat.

She started whimpering as it was almost over, but she kept her mouth closed around him, trying to taste his skin for a few more moments before slowly sliding her lips down his shaft. Getting to the end, she licked the tip with her tongue in case she'd missed any of the liquid and pulled back. He was weakly leaning forward, his hands still in her hair but barely holding on as he attempted to keep his legs stable. She finally looked up at his face. His eyes were closed. She suddenly ran through every naughty idea she ever had in her mind and knew that she'd do anything to this man as long as he'd do everything to her. She leaned in biting at his thigh.

"Oh no, you can't do that. I don't even- just-" He had no idea what he was trying to say. He was coming back from wherever his mind had gone. Opening his eyes, her face was filled with desire, and her pink lipstick was smudged. His eyes shot down seeing the rest of her lipstick on his own body now. He groaned, physically feeling the pain of knowing what had just happened and knowing that she wanted it as much as he had. "We're going to destroy each other." It was a statement.

"God I hope so." She felt a little more in control of herself now, ready for whatever else he asked her to do.

He finally laughed, his normal smile coming back since they first kissed. "I think I might need a minute to recover."

"Just a minute? You're better than I thought." She was teasing him.

He was shaking his head at her, grabbing the cuff key from the nightstand to let her free. He put his hands out to help her up stand up, and she took them. She was standing in front of him and was finally putting her hands on his chest. She came to her tiptoes to kiss him again. Luke pulled her close bringing her chest flush with his body, both of them moaning at the contact their skin made. "We have so much more to do, Penelope."

"Uh huh." She smiled into his lips as she pressed kisses to his lips.

"Mmmmm, do you want to get sleep tonight?"

"Would you let me if I said yes?"

"Only if you asked politely."

"You're really into this domination thing?"

"Don't have to be."

"No. I like it. We've already been practicing." She bit her lip again. "It might be a good idea to shower. I can feel you dripping all the way down to my ankle."

He made a low moan from the back of his throat. "How are we going to function tomorrow?" He started rubbing the back of her shoulder as he held onto to her.

"That's future us problems."

"You're right. Let's get that shower then, huh?" He entwined his fingers with hers and pulled her to the bathroom, putting any thought of tomorrow out of their minds.


	14. Chapter 14

My life is currently a disaster zone. Medical issues are taking time everyday. Physical therapy all the time. Gah! I am searching for a place to live with the zero money in my pocket, while still living with my ex. It's super great! Gah! Anyway, I haven't had time to update much of anything. I will update my other stories (Cash, Signals, & Manor, not Fog yet) in the next couple days too. I know I haven't gotten back to a lot of you and I apologize. I haven't even logged on in quite some time. But so many of you have reached out and I appreciate it so much! I genuinely do! Thank you.

* * *

Luke was in the kitchen making breakfast while Penelope got ready for work. She came down the stairs barefoot, half limping on the way down, holding her shoes in one hand, and holding the railing with the other to steady herself. Rounding the corner to the kitchen, she found Luke shirtless, standing in front of a bowl of fruit he'd pulled out of the fridge. He spun around. "Hey, Beautiful. Sleep okay?"

She half-heartedly threw a shoe towards him. It landed just a couple of feet in front of her. "Shut up. My brain, my legs, and my feet are already done for the day. Can we figure this out early so I can just come back and sleep and possibly ice my-well maybe not ice it, but it's sore." She sat down as she rambled like her normal self.

He was chuckling as he set the fruit down in front of her. "Don't wear any underwear today. Maybe that will help. It will certainly help me." He ran his fingers across the table as he made his way to her side, putting his hand lightly on her throat as he held her head back, bending down to kiss her. He only planned on a nice good morning kiss, but almost immediately it started escalating.

When she heard herself moan, she finally pushed him off. "No. We cannot. I literally cannot right now. Everything hurts."

"Okay, but tonight?" He innocently raised his eyebrow at her as he sat in the chair next to her.

"Oh yeah, definitely." She smiled as she grabbed the glass of water he'd set in front of her.

They heard the front door opening. They both were startled, but he quickly assumed it was his Nita, confirmed by her loud greeting. "Mis ninos, donde estan?"

"We're in the kitchen, Ma."

"Wait, why is she coming in the front door?" Penelope was confused.

"She's coming back from the hotel."

"Why was she at the hotel?"

"She stayed the night there in hopes that I would tell you how I felt." He was smiling at her, almost embarrassed.

"You made her go to the hotel?" she asked incredulously.

"Nope, that was what her and Prentiss schemed up last night when they were leaving." He was leaning over her again.

"Oh my God! Emily knows!" She pushed his chest lightly.

"Chica, I think everyone knows. It was Suzanna who told me to tell you I was in love with you. Derek and I talked it through the other day too. The rest of the team have probably discussed it more in depth than we have." He tipped his head to her, telling her she should just accept that fact now.

"Oh my God! Everyone knows! Nita knows?" Her eyes were wide.

"They don't know what we did last night." He leered at her again.

"I hope not! Wait, they helped her scheme to get us to be here alone?"

"Looks that way, and, by the way, if she was here, why on earth were you so loud?" He leaned in close to her as he asked the question.

"Oh my God! I didn't even think about that." She put her head down in her hands, elbows on the table. She could've definitely embarrassed herself and never been able to look Nita in the eye ever again.

Nita rounded the corner, glancing between the two of them, "Dios mio! Thank goodness, you have told her." She walked to him and kissed him.

"How do you know I did?"

"I can see it in your eyes. Tus ojos son muy reveladores." She grabbed Penelope's face and kissed it. "Also, where is your shirt?"

Luke grabbed the button up he'd put on the back of his chair, swinging it over his shoulders but letting it hang open. Nita walked back down the hall. Luke and Penelope could hear her voice in the distance. "They've talked to each other! Can you believe it?"

Both of them were now laughing as they heard multiple footsteps approaching. "I'm glad something good came out of last night," Emily said as she came around the corner.

"Wait, is she serious? You two actually talked? To each other? I don't believe it." Derek put his hand over his heart.

"Please tell me the whole team isn't waiting in the hallway with cake and balloons," Penelope muttered putting her hand to her forehead.

Both Emily and Derek chuckled at her. Luke was still calm as ever, refilling his glass with water.

"If you're ready, everyone else is at the office already." Emily still had to keep the team on track, even when she was enjoying her new found knowledge.

"Yup, ready." Penelope stood up. "Oh uh." She sat back down, trying to put her shoes on and finding it hard to do so. "Umm, I'm going to need a minute." She took a sip of her water, not wanting to embarrass herself.

"Sure. Alvez, come with me. Morgan, wait for Garcia, and drive the other car in." Emily nodded at Luke. He began buttoning his shirt as he followed her out of the kitchen but not without running his hand over Penelope's back before exiting.

Nita had gone upstairs, but as she was coming back down, she stopped Luke in the hallway. "Mijo, can you fix my phone for me? I tried to do the picture thing, and it-" She waved a hand and handed him her flip phone.

"Sure, Abuela. I'll look at it." He put it in his pocket and kissed her goodbye.

"Mijo." He stopped to listen to her. "Estoy muy orgulloso de ti y tengo mi anillo cuando estés listo para ello." He nodded shyly at her and then followed Prentiss out of the door, shutting it behind him.

"You didn't hear that," Luke said, knowing that Emily was very fluent in Spanish.

"Course not."

She got in the passenger's side. Her face impassive, she waited for Luke to get in and pull away from the curb. "But just one question, what does the ring look like?" She smiled out the window. She couldn't resist.

Nita had returned to the kitchen, fussing over the mess she claimed Luke made with the knives, even though it looked like there was only one missing. She made Derek sit down and eat something while Penelope went upstairs to get different shoes. Penelope shuffled back in wearing very low kitten heels. "Wow." Derek leaned in as Nita was occupied putting things in the fridge. "That rough, huh?" He smirked at her.

"Oh, you have no idea." She exhaled.

Derek somehow wasn't expecting the straightforward, very honest answer. He couldn't hold back his laughter. Nita turned to them smiling, trying to decipher what was happening. "Funny jokes?" she inquired.

"Oh no, it's nothing. We should get going, though. I will see you later." Penelope went to her and kissed her goodbye. She walked through the hall towards the door.

Nita tipped her head at Derek. "I don't know if they want children, but, if they're going to go at it like that, I think they better figure it out."

Derek was shocked once more, but it immediately turned to amusement at the words coming from the seemingly innocent woman. He raised his eyebrows at her conspiratorially before sauntering down the hall.

Penelope was stopped near the door, holding her purse and seemingly in a daydream. "Ready to go?" Derek asked her.

She dazedly turned her eyes to him. "Hmm hmm." He opened the door, letting her walk out first.

After silence in the car, Derek pulled into a parking spot. As she went to undo her seatbelt, he put his hand to stop her. "What can possibly be wrong now? You were all exhausted sunshine a few minutes ago, and now you're a zombie."

"I'm seriously fatigued. I think I slept thirty minutes in between-" She leaned against the door and put her hand to her forehead. Derek laughed and shook his head at her as she got out of the car and made her way inside.

….

Derek entered the room where the team was gathered. As soon as Emily's eyes caught him, she began speaking. "Okay, so Alvez went through the same mugshots we showed Nita just in case he recognized anyone, but no luck."

"Right, so once again why and how does the unsub know about us?" JJ put in.

"I think Luke was onto something yesterday," Emily added. "When you were saying what you don't have in common with Hotch and Blake," she encouraged.

"Right, I was just thinking. What if we weren't just the first of the team to get targeted? What if we were the only ones? This guy had enough of a plan to get to us. He would have to figure that as soon as the second person got the envelope, that we would know it was about the team, so, if he wanted us all on our toes, why wouldn't he plan in advance to target all of us?"

"So, there is something that this guy has against you, Blake, and Hotch," Rossi stated.

"You never worked on the same case, even at different times. What about a personal thing?" Derek asked." Was there anything you participated in that someone could know you from? Hotch used to do those triathlons. Anything like that?"

"Not really. I wasn't socializing much except with my partner Phil, and he's never worked with Blake or Hotch either," Luke answered.

They sat in momentary silence when there was a beep from the phone in the middle of the room, and then Penelope's voice filled the room. "Hey, Superheros. I have a weird little thing that might be nothing."

"What is it Garcia?" Emily put her hands on the table, leaning over it and listening to her.

"I obviously tried to figure out how someone could make the connection between Luke and Suzanna. If it's not someone you've always known, then how would they know you dated when you were teenagers?"

"So what did you find?" Matt queried.

"That's just the thing. Nothing. Luke doesn't have any social media, so there's no connection that way. You've never called her cell, and your high school yearbook has you in one picture with her, but there were also twenty others in that photo from a field trip you were on. There is nothing easily found to make the connection unless they were asking around."

"And none of the people we talked to said anything about strangers asking about you." JJ turned to Luke.

"So how does this guy know to approach her of all the people that were in the neighborhood?" Tara questioned.

"Okay, who was in Blake's pictures? Just her and her husband? Makes sense. She lives with him, works with him, and they've been married for years, not hard to figure out," Derek was stating.

"Yeah and Hotch, Jack is his son. Easy enough," JJ agreed.

"What about Hayley's sister? Why her? Not as easy of a connection, and they hadn't been around her lately since they were in witness protection for so long, and they didn't move back here right away," Rossi said.

"She used to watch Jack all the time," Reid said.

"That was before Alvez was part of the team. How long has this guy been watching?" Rossi asked.

"And that still doesn't explain why just us," Luke said.

Everyone took a breath. "What are we missing?" Emily's frustrated tone was the only voice in the room.

"What about the footage from outside of Mirasol's? The family didn't have their own surveillance, but there is a camera on the corner near the subway station," Reid said.

"Yeah, I know, but the footage I found doesn't even have Suzanna in it," Penelope informed them.

"So either she got her dates mixed up-" Simmons started.

"Or someone is only letting us see what they want us to see," Tara finished.

"Could explain why there was no overlap in any other footage. It's pretty odd that no one else showed up twice, considering the places she goes she sees the same people."

Everyone sat back, trying to take in the information. "Could you tell if the footage was altered?" Simmons asked.

Penelope's voice came through the speaker again. "It wasn't. There was some missing, but that's not always a red flag. The city has so many cameras. Sometimes things aren't kept as long from less active areas."

"We were trying to figure out how someone was so easily able to take photos without being noticed but -" Derek started.

"We need to look at this differently," Reid continued the thought. "Instead of him choosing those spots to not attract attention, we need to see if it was about him being on surveillance. He probably studied where the cameras are, and, in a city like this, that's not easy to do."

"Okay, we're going back to these locations. Reid, you have a list of where the cameras are in each place?" He handed Emily a sheet. "Let's see how easy it is to avert being seen. Garcia, Reid, Alvez, go through the footage again at the times Nita was there. Check the foot traffic, and compare them to other days. Let's see if there was a reason those days were erased. Let's go." Prentiss finished instructing them, and they all followed her lead.

…

Emily pulled out her phone. "Okay, we're at the corner across from the church again, but, standing here, there doesn't seem to be an overt amount of foot traffic, but it's not a sparse street either. There's a bodega and a pizza shop half a block up, both of which are busy and not just on Sundays."

Reid, Luke, and Penelope were on the other end. "Wait, you said there was a pizza shop and a bodega right next to each other?" Spencer questioned.

Rossi was listening to the speaker from Emily's phone. "Yeah, Murphy's pizza, was that one-"

"Yes. Murphy's pizza was one of the places that got robbed a couple of weeks back, the same night as the bodega next door," Spencer recited the information.

"Right, the police wouldn't think too much of it. Quick snatch and grab, no injuries, and it made sense they were next door to each other so, easy enough," Luke stated.

"And that would definitely be footage they would keep. The police would have requested the footage to see if the suspects were on it," Penelope said.

"Yeah, I remember reading the report though. There were no witnesses besides the two workers, and the camera footage wasn't found," Spencer said.

"Not found? How is that even possible? I assume the police responded immediately," Rossi added.

"They did, but with no injuries the request for footage would've been made the next day or two, whenever the paperwork was filed," Spencer answered.

"Right, unless it's ongoing, there's not usually a rush on it. A quick robbery, with no injuries…" Luke mentioned.

"So then where did the footage go, and why wasn't that investigated?" Prentiss asked.

"Probably chalked up to coincidence, or they might have a tech team investigating discrepancies or glitches. New York's system is intense. There are cameras everywhere, but they're undermanned as far as having them constantly monitored. Remember, I've gone through this before here. Just because there's a camera doesn't mean anything." Penelope reminded them of their case years ago where the surveillance only took them so far.

"Of course but still no one would've seen the connection?" Emily said in disbelief.

"Honestly with such a large system, this is probably no where near the first camera to not give them what they needed." Penelope shrugged at the two people in the room with her. Luke put his hand on her shoulder.

"Okay, we're heading back in. I'll call the others and see if they've got anything." Emily disconnected.

"This makes no sense. Either they are the luckiest petty thieves in history, or they are too sophisticated to just be petty thieves." Luke scoffed and put his fist down on Penelope's desk as he gazed over her shoulder at her computer screen.

"Right, it doesn't particularly make sense. If you are advanced enough to hack a city's system, why on earth would you do so in order to rob a pizza place for their petty cash?" Reid was scrunching his face as he pondered.

"What if it is truly a coincidence?" Penelope asked hopefully, even though she knew it was just her optimism shining through.

Spencer shook his head. "I'm going to go talk to Director Logan and see if he's already coordinated with the local P.D." Luke nodded at him as he left the room.

Luke saw Penelope worrying her lip as she stared at her screen. "Hey, don't do that."

"But Luke, I-"

"Penelope, I meant what I said before, you're doing your best. We all are. We just don't know what we're looking at yet."

"I know I just - I've done nothing useful, and I-"

Luke spun her chair around and loomed over her face. "Mi carina, I told you to stop. Did you not hear me?"

"I did."

"So you're choosing to ignore my request?" He leaned in close to her face.

"I didn't mean to. I'll stop. I promise." She bit her lip as she remembered that she knew what it was like to kiss him now.

"Yes. You will," he said decisively. He pulled away when he heard Spencer's voice filter through his head.

"Uh guys, I think this is a bigger problem than just a robbery." He cleared his throat. He had seen Luke standing over Penelope, and he was not planning to acknowledge it.

"How so?" Luke took a few steps back so he could face both people in the room.

"The robbers spilled a box of pasta at the bodega."

"Okay, so they're clumsy bad guys?" Penelope said with an arched eyebrow.

"There was pasta at the pizza shop, too," Spencer said.

"Yeah, it's a pizza place," Luke said casually.

"True, but they only sell pizza slices, nothing else. No reason there would be pasta there," Spencer answered.

"What the hell does pasta have to do with anything?" Penelope questioned him.

"A signature," Luke said in realization, and Spencer nodded at him.

"Excuse me, a _pasta_ signature? Are they rejected contestants from the cooking channel?" she asked in disbelief.

"No, there's a crime family. One of the guys is called Vinny 'Pasta' Leon." Luke held up his hand as Penelope opened her mouth to question him. "I don't know why."

"But this could be why there was never any further investigation. The store owner never followed up with the police, and he claimed his interior surveillance was a non-working system. It was just to deter crime," Spencer explained.

"So in reality, the police didn't bother because the people who were robbed were reluctant because this was a bigger threat than someone stealing the cash box?" Penelope asked.

Luke was nodding, and Spencer glanced between him and Penelope. Luke sat on the edge of her desk. "Why though?"

"That, I don't know. But it explains why someone would bother erasing surveillance," Reid explained.

"True, but what in the hell does that have to do with my grandmother? Furthermore, even if my abuela managed to piss off a crime lord, then why the hell would that same unsub go after a college professor?" Luke shook his head.

"So wait, this can't be related then, can it?" Penelope's eyes were steeped in worry.

"It doesn't make sense, but the likelihood that it isn't…" Spencer shrugged.

"What the hell is this?" Penelope was staring at Luke.

"Not a clue, Carina," he answered as he ran his hand over his hair.

"Director Logan was going to bring in the files he received. I'll go see if he put them in the conference room," Spencer said quietly before retreating.

"Luke…" Penelope said in fear.

"We'll figure it out. Everyone will be fine."

"Promise?" she asked in such a small voice.

Luke came close to her again and kissed her forehead. "I promise."

"I love you." Penelope said it shyly as if she hadn't spent the entire night before in a bed with him doing all sorts of things she never knew she wanted to do.

"I love you too," Luke said back to her. "You know what you're going to do tonight?" He leaned over her, pushing her chair back and placing his hands on either side of her on her desk.

Her eyes immediately darkened, and she tried not to bite her lip as peered up at him over her glasses. "What am I going to do for you, sir?"

Luke smirked. He was definitely loving that the game they had been playing was now something that he knew was never just a game after all. "You're going to -"

"Uh, guys, if you just shut the door next time, I'll know to wait a few minutes, and I won't have to awkwardly keep interrupting like this." Spencer gave them an almost smile as he set a couple of files on her desk.

Penelope's eyes went wide, as Luke spoke, "Will do." He cleared his throat and held his hand out for one of the folders. "Let's do this."


	15. Chapter 15

If you only follow this story it might seem like I am taking even longer between updates. I do have other stories that I try to update in between so just keep that in mind. I know it might be a wait if you're only reading one. Thanks for sticking in there and I love hearing from you even if I don't get a chance to respond right away. My life is still a mess. Still in PT. Still trying to scrounge money together to move. Gah!

Luke, Penelope, and Spencer were scanning through some of the other footage from the various petty crimes in the area. They flagged some of the reports that seemed to be the closest in time and proximity to Nita's normal haunts and then dissected the footage around the areas.

As Penelope was speeding through one of the videos, Spencer spoke up. "Stop. Stop it right there." He pointed at the screen. "The times that your grandmother's photos are taken are usually during lunch time, a decidedly busy time, especially in this area where there are multiple restaurants. Particularly on this day, there was a restaurant grand opening point two miles away."

"Okay, so they chose to hit a store on the same block, which is riskier since it was more crowded," Luke added.

"Correct, but think about it. Despite it just being busier, why that time of day?"

"Most baddies do enjoy the dark," Penelope contemplated as she stared at the screen.

"I'm going to cross-reference the rest of the photos from the board and check the times of the photos of Blake and Hotch to see if they follow the same type of pattern." Spencer walked out of Penelope's office. Luke immediately shut the door behind him, came up behind Penelope's chair, and tipped her head to the side to kiss her neck.

"Oh my- Are you serious? Right now? We're in the middle of-"

She stopped her protest when he spun her chair around. "It doesn't matter what we're in the middle of, Penelope. I want what I want."

"Yes sir." He got down on his knees in front of her. "What is it that you want?" she questioned.

"Well, you're sore, right? So this will be very gentle." He smirked at her, pulled one of her legs over his shoulder, and pushed her dress up to her upper thighs. Then he put his head underneath. "Penelope," he growled, "you didn't do what I told you to do." Luke roughly pulled her underwear down her legs.

"We're at work!" she protested, but it she clearly didn't mind . She watched Luke pocket the purposely skimpy panties she had worn and then return his head to her lap. "I was in too much pain to wear underwear today anyway," she breathed as she held onto his hair and he worked his lips and tongue.

He hummed his agreement making a little shiver run up her spine. He pulled her further to the edge of the chair to gain better access. He held onto her thighs, digging his nails in as she pulled his hair. "God, Luke, uh-"

He ran his fingertips up and down her thighs. He tore his mouth away from her momentarily. "Move forward." He pulled her ass to the edge. If he wasn't holding her legs, she would've fallen.

Soon she was trying her hardest to hold in her scream while bending slightly forward as she fiercely gripped his hair with the other. When she finally felt the sensation slow, she let her grip on his hair loosen.

"That was fun." He smiled as he pulled back, settling her dress back in place before standing up and leaning over her to kiss her. "Aren't you learning yet that you are supposed to listen the first time?"

"Yes, sir." She bit her lip. "How are you so good at that?" She shivered again.

"Are you cold?"

"No. Not right now anyway. Pretty warm, actually." Her eyes were heavy as she tried to bring her body back in control.

"Take off your cardigan."

She did, not thinking clearly about one of the reasons she made sure it had long sleeves today. A few moments later, the office door opened. "Hey gorgeous girl, did-" Derek stopped mid sentence, taking in Penelope's flushed face and Luke's satisfied demeanor. "Am I going to have to start knocking?" he chuckled.

"Shut up, Derek," Penelope said half-heartedly.

"Conference room." He politely nodded to Luke, who nodded back, moving past him through the door. "So, a little fun work time?" Derek raised his eyebrows at her.

"Did you need something?" She tried to sound annoyed, but she was too satisfied to do so.

"No." He watched her get up to readjust her chair. "What is that?" He grabbed her wrist inspecting it and then his face lighting up as he saw the handcuff marks.

She pulled her wrist back. "Shut up, Derek." She shivered.

"Why do you have your cardigan off if you're cold? Showing off your battle scars?" He smirked.

"I wasn't cold just a minute ago." She grabbed her cardigan, putting it on again. "Actually, can you hand me my sweater too?" She pointed towards where she'd set it.

Derek grabbed her sweater sitting on top of her purse. "Preparing for winter?"

"No, it's the the computers. When there is so much in one system, sometimes there are external coolers to make sure it doesn't overheat. It's fine for a few minutes until it keeps blowing on your legs all day. Plus, I apparently need to hide my _battle scars._ "

"This is my fault?" She waved him off, but he kissed her temple before he retreated from the room to head towards the conference room.

She started typing furiously, knowing that Luke had distracted her from what she was doing. However, there wasn't much for her to look into at the moment. "Okay, what else, what else?"

She mumbled to herself, knowing the team was in the other room brainstorming away. She sighed, throwing her head back until a thought materialized in her head. She quickly pushed the button on her intercom. "Uh, did Suzanna remember what the guy was drinking at the cafe?"

In the other room, they all had curious looks before JJ answered. "She said he ordered a hot green tea and a blueberry muffin."

"Okay, give me a sec." Penelope clicked off, and the team glanced at each other before they spoke again.

"As I was saying, the times for the photos of Blake at the campus are all over the place - one's after her morning class, one's at her car in the morning. There isn't a pattern - no rhyme or reason to it," Spencer announced.

"Now that we know that this can actually be connected to other crimes, we should have Garcia check to see if there was a jump in activity near Blake's campus," JJ said.

"Yeah, and Hotch wasn't working at the time, so it makes sense that whomever followed him would have had to wait for opportunity," Derek added.

"True. So if the criminal activity is connected to the photos here, then why didn't it follow a pattern there?" Tara raised her eyebrow.

"That's why it doesn't-" Matt stopped when they heard Penelope's voice again.

"Well, she definitely had the right day."

"How do you know that? Mirasol's doesn't have electronic records of orders, first thing we checked," Rossi added.

"They don't, but the coffee chain next door does, and, at exactly thirteen minutes after one in the afternoon, someone ordered a hot green tea and a muffin," Penelope said.

"Any record of who that was?" Luke asked.

"Well obviously not because I would've told you." Everyone silently laughed that she was still giving him a hard time. "But my point is I think that they do have surveillance at the registers."

"Okay great. See if you can get that video," Prentiss spoke. "Also check for a spike in criminal activity near-"

"Already did. There was no spike near Hotch or Blake. I even checked surrounding towns," Penelope answered.

"Well that puts a damper on that theory," Matt said.

"Yeah, but this can't just be a coincidence," JJ said frustrated.

"Also, in those places, there aren't as many cameras as on a crowded New York City street. Maybe this was the only place he needed a distraction. Or _they_ did," Luke said with a sigh.

"That's true. Even if the robberies were used to throw us off, that means the unsub needed help," Rossi added.

"So is it possible these guys are just trying to throw everyone off by using a signature that would scare people enough to keep quiet?" Tara asked.

"Possible, but that's pretty risky. If all you wanted was to get away with a few hundred bucks and a photo, would you risk baiting a crime boss?" Emily questioned the group.

"This is pretty elaborate just to be able to take some photos without looking like a creep on a New York street," Derek agreed.

"Uh okay, guys?" Penelope's voice came through the speaker again. "I think I found something. I'm going to zoom in on the footage and print it out. I'll be there in a sec." She disconnected again.

"Prentiss is right. Even gang bangers around here know well enough not to pin their crimes on anyone that could take them out with a snap of their fingers," Luke added. "I wasn't involved in anything bad, but it doesn't mean you don't hear about it. Other kids at my high school that did deal drugs, if they did it for one of the bigger guys around here, they knew as well as anyone else not to come back empty handed."

JJ nodded. "So these guys are either extremely stupid and cocky, or they are-"

"Actually connected to someone named Vinny Pasta," Derek scoffed in frustration.

Penelope walked into the conference room - photos in one hand, her tea in the other. "This is all there was. The camera points to the register to try and counteract employees stealing, so there's no photo of his face."

"Well, that's definitely him. He has a flannel shirt on," Simmons said.

"Suzanna was right, but it was September. So why?" JJ questioned.

"Medical condition." Tara put in. Everyone looked at the photo again.

Penelope was squinting at it now. "Wai-wait, wait." She put her mug down as if it had burned her. "Oh no, oh no." She exited the room still muttering, and Luke glanced at the others before following her down the hall to her office.

Luke came into her office and sidled up behind her chair. Penelope was typing furiously. He re-positioned himself when he saw that she had brought up his personnel file. He said nothing, but he narrowed his eyes, waiting for her to find whatever she was searching for. She typed a few more things before scrolling down and highlighting Suzanna's name.

Luke eyes widened. "I forgot. When I was first recruited, they asked for references. I gave them a bunch of names from people here - the priest, a teacher, multiple friends from high school. It was just routine. The bureau asks for long term references. I asked a bunch of people when I was in town visiting, and they all said yes, including her. I don't even think they bothered to contact any of them," he explained.

"Yeah, that sounds about right, but this is the connection." Penelope was certain.

He sighed heavily. "So it's someone in the Bureau. That's why they know Blake and Hotch."

"It's not just someone in the bureau. It's someone in the bureau accessing your files that can erase footage from cameras without detection and knows where those cameras are in the first place. It's someone who has a day job, so they go out on their normal lunch break, and that drinks hot teas, and is cold enough at his office to wear a flannel in summer." She fixated on his eyes as he processed the information.

He grabbed her hand, harshly pulling her from her seat. "We need to go tell the team, and you're not leaving my side until this is finished."

He checked the hallway seeing no one there before beginning down the hall to the conference room, dragging Penelope by the hand and shutting the door behind them. The whole team stared at them as they stood in front of the door.

"It's Michael," Luke stated.

"Michael?" Rossi questioned.

"The tech guy here in this office," Penelope said in a low voice.

Everyone's eyes widened in recognition. "How do you know?" Prentiss questioned.

"He brings me tea before he goes to lunch and then right when he comes back. It's hot green tea which he has a stash of in his office. An office which is cold because of the computer fans, so I wear two sweaters, and he probably keeps an extra flannel for when he's in there," Penelope spoke quicker.

"He can easily access any of the city's cameras and know what he can and can't get rid of," Luke added. "And even the stuff they come looking for, well, he's more advanced than any of the city's techies, so he can hide his trail easily."

"Suzanna didn't say anything about glasses, and she said the guy wasn't as tall as Luke. Michael is." Reid wanted to make sense of the discrepancies.

"No, he's not. His shoes have lifts in them. I saw his personal stuff when I was getting a USB cord from his storage closet. There are lifts and a pair of shoes with a short heel on them. I have tons of pairs of prescription sunglasses. I'm sure he does too. It was a sunny day, and Suzanna said they sat outside. No one would think about that. She probably had a pair on too," Penelope told them.

"But why?" Simmons spoke.

"That's the real question," Rossi added.

"Where is he?" Derek asked.

"That's my before lunch tea." She pointed to the mug she'd abandoned minutes ago. "He went to lunch about a half hour ago."

"Okay, nobody do anything. Stay here; act calm. I will go speak to the director quietly." Prentiss casually opened the door, making her way to the field director's office.

"Let's see what we can find on this guy." Derek nodded to Penelope.

"I'll go get your laptop." Luke told her, but she held onto his hand which she'd never dropped since he dragged her down the hall.

Matt saw her clench his hand tighter. "I'll go get it. We don't know still if Luke is his real target," he said as an excuse.

"I'll come with." Derek nodded and followed Matt out the door.

"Alright, let's find out what this guy's motives are. At least we know that he most definitely could have targeted any one of us, so he does have a specific reason," Rossi added.

Prentiss returned. "Where are Simmons and Morgan?" she asked as she closed the door behind her.

"Right here." Matt pushed the door before it closed all the way and handed Penelope her laptop.

Penelope took a seat and opened her laptop. She typed for a few moments, pulling up his personnel file. She sat back in the chair as she started reading. Luke was over her shoulder, leaning on the table with one hand, as his eyes scanned the page.

Luke stood up straight and addressed the others that were waiting for an explanation of what she found. "He applied for a job in the BAU a few years ago. I'm assuming that was when Blake got the job instead. Hotch didn't even give him a real interview, probably based on his qualifications. He applied again, and I'm assuming that was when I was asked to join the team. Did Hotch even do interviews?"

"Honestly, it was the last thing we were thinking about at the time. We were overworked, we wanted you on the team, and it wasn't even a discussion," Rossi answered.

Penelope was still typing. "He had a four day vacation approved in September. That must be when he followed Blake, but, for the time period that we narrowed down for Hotch, he was here, in New York," Penelope added as she glanced up at some of the faces in front of her.

"So there is definitely someone else in on this, and we need to know why they would have enough loyalty to help him carry out a vendetta," JJ said.

Derek crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't get it though. Why doesn't he have a grudge against Garcia then? He's a tech. If he wanted to be in the BAU, wouldn't she be his target?"

Luke put his hand on her back when he saw her flinch. "His file shows that he was putting in for field work."

"That's right. Logan just told me that Michael's been asking for field and weapons training and that he's allowed him some. He's already passed some of the field exams," Prentiss informed them.

"So why isn't he already assigned to a unit?" Spencer asked.

"There's no rave reviews from his superiors. The most he gets is efficient," Penelope said as she scrolled through the screen.

"There was just something off about him. He didn't do anything wrong, but he seemed to want control on a few of the cases. He wasn't a team player," Luke added as he continued to look over Penelope's shoulder at some of the notes she brought up.

"It's still a jump for him to target you just for that. I mean, you didn't even apply for the BAU. You didn't even want it," JJ added.

"Maybe that's why. I didn't even try, and this guy did. He took on extra work, extra hours, caseloads. I guess he didn't see any of his effort paying off," Luke theorized.

"So he blames Blake for getting the job, and Hotch for not giving him a shot, and you for taking a spot before it was even offered, but then like you said why target you three now? And why your families?" Matt still didn't see the motivation.

"Like Suzanna said, maybe he was trying to get you to come back home. If you were worried about your grandmother's safety, maybe you would just quit, and leave a spot open," Tara suggested.

"Except for the fact that he should've then targeted the whole team. Anyone of us leaving leaves a spot open," Reid said.

"But in his eyes, you're the ones that took his opportunity away, so to him you're the problems. But still, it doesn't explain the timing," Prentiss said.

"Maybe he's just fed up. Was there anything in is file about his recent work? Anything to suggest he had a stressor?" Rossi looked at Penelope.

She typed a little bit more. "They haven't been giving him much to do. He has less log hours these past six months. It's been decreasing steadily." She lifted her shoulders indicating she knew it wasn't much. "Unless it's personal, but, much like me, he doesn't haven't any social media presence, probably because we know how stupid it would be for one of us techies to reveal too much on a very easily hackable public format."

"Email?" Derek asked.

"Nothing that I can see, but like I said, he knows better than that, too easy. My guess if he's made any communication, it's on the darknet. If you want me to…" She trailed off looking at Emily.

Emily cleared her throat. "Not yet. Let's hope that we can question him, and that we figure it out that way."

"You really think he'll just confess? He knows how this works. If he's wanted to be in the BAU, he knows what we do," Rossi said to her with a raised eyebrow.

"I understand, but right now no one is in danger, and we know who our unsub is. If we need something further, we'll cross that path when we get there," Prentiss said.

"So what are we doing?" Derek asked.

"Logan said he returns from lunch promptly at two everyday. He can call him in his office, and we'll take it from there," Prentiss informed the team.

"She's right. My tea is on my desk at five after two everyday," Penelope said with worried eyes.

"So he's supposed to be back in less than five minutes." JJ checked the time on her phone.

"Are we sure the agents that have been rotating for my grandmother aren't in on this? Friends of his?" Luke queried with concern.

Emily shook her head. "Logan said he'd vouch for them any day of the week. First thing I asked. He's notifying them now so they can bring your grandmother in right after we arrest him." She returned his grateful nod. "He said this Michael acts harmless enough, but that he does rub everyone the wrong way. Mostly they all assumed it was just some anti-social intellectual superiority complex."

"He is good. He's very good. I'm surprised he's at a branch like this." Penelope genuinely felt like his skills were underutilized, even if now that was probably a good thing.

"True. And he probably got assigned to this because his superiors never truly trusted him with a bigger responsibility," Derek agreed.

"He should be here by now." Luke checked his watch.

"It's exactly two." Matt stated, not sure if that was a good or bad thing.

"He couldn't know we were on to him. We didn't even know," Reid said.

Penelope grabbed the laptop in front of her. "He's too smart to keep the GPS on his phone, but he might have his FBI issued tablet." She was typing furiously for a few moments, everyone observing her and casually scanning the office through the glass of the conference room.

Director Logan swiftly entered the room and shut the door behind him. "I can't get a hold of Mannon. He's supposed to be on duty right now. I also called Simpson to ask him if everything went smooth with the change over. He said that it did, and that he was told not to show up for midday shift change."

Penelope's fingers halted when the information appeared on her screen. She gasped. "Oh my - he's at your house." She turned to Luke as tears sprang from her eyes.

"I'll have Simpson meet us there," the director said.

Everyone glanced at each other, springing into action and immediately racing to the cars.

* * *

Thanks for all the reviews, favs and follows. Always makes me smile to get those emails.

And again, thanks to BookDragon2013.


	16. Chapter 16

Updates for all my other stories are done in between updates for this one. I know it seems like a long time in between chapters but I have to keep my other stuff updated as well. Thanks for all the support. I appreciate all the reviews, favs, follows on any of my stories and I hope you're still enjoying this one.

* * *

Penelope had never seen Luke put his vest on as quickly as she had when he heard her words. He made her put one on as well and brought her with them. No one argued the point.

"Why now?" Penelope asked from the backseat of the car. They all split into two cars, but they kept each other on speaker so they could communicate on the way.

"He must have been monitoring us at the office. He knows what we know," Derek answered from the front seat.

"He knew not to come back. He either has surveillance equipment in the conference room, or..." Luke looked in the rear view mirror to Penelope's face before turning his eyes back to the road as he drove. "In his office."

Penelope gasped knowing what that meant. He had lots of video of her doing hopefully mundane and not embarrassing things, but also of her and Luke doing one very intimate thing.

"Garcia?" Emily's voice came through the speaker in the front of the car. "Now is the time to-"

"On it." She opened the laptop she'd brought along. As she typed, they pulled up to Luke's home.

Everyone got out except Penelope. "We're not leaving her." Luke was speaking about Penelope who was typing furiously in the backseat, even though his gun was drawn just like everyone else's, his eyes trained on the house.

Derek nodded. "I'll stay with her." Luke turned to him giving him a slight nod in appreciation that he understood. He needed someone that he knew would take care of Penelope so he could focus on his grandmother.

"I'll take the side of the house, so I can keep eyes on the back. Simpson can take the other side when he gets here." Director Logan nodded at Emily.

"Everyone else, let's go," Prentiss instructed.

They all approached the house swiftly but cautiously. When they entered the front door, they saw Michael standing very casually in the living room. Nita was sitting in a chair. Physically, she looked unharmed, but she was barely awake. Luke noticed a weird metal collar around her neck that has various small lights, blinking off and on. Then his eyes fell on a man that no one recognized. He was sitting behind Nita with a gun trained on her.

"So it seems we have come to an impasse," Michael spoke to the group. "You've figured me out. I'm officially out of a job. That's not terrible. Obviously I have a backup plan, but, see, I still need to get out of all this." He waved his hand around.

"And what does that have to do with what you are doing here?" Luke asked as he took another step forward.

"Good question, SSA Alvez. Well since I am apparently not good enough to even get an interview for the BAU, I decided to go in an entirely different direction. This," he indicated the other man in the room, "is Ralph. Ralph is here to make sure I effectively finish my initiation."

"Initiation for what?" Luke asked, and, just as he did, Derek's voice came through all of their earpieces.

"Penelope says he's been communicating with the Leon crime family for the past two months. They want to go high tech. In return, they provide him with people to use his new gun training on." Derek tried to sum up what she'd found effectively.

Michael hadn't said anything. He'd looked to Ralph for guidance, not knowing they got the information they needed. "It doesn't matter what for. It matters that I need to prove myself, and this can help me do that."

"How's that?" Luke was serious, and he was angry. Even though Nita was okay at the moment, there was no way to know if it would stay that way if this guy thought there was a way to use her to prove something for no other reason than he wanted to be in some gang.

"Well see, here's the thing. These people need to know I'm all in, which means I need to do a lot of things, illegal things. Some things, like getting rid of evidence and moving money around, but that's simple enough with my skills. They also need to know I can do the other stuff - the stuff that I can't do with a computer, like killing."

Luke narrowed his eyes some more. "And killing the church lady that knits solidifies you being a badass?" Luke asked sarcastically.

"Well no, not exactly. You're right, but, see, since you're one of the reasons I'm doing all this, it kind of seemed like a two birds-one stone situation. See, the little old lady might not give me the cred I need, but killing an FBI agent? Well, that will do nicely."

Everyone shifted. Michael glanced at the various quiet faces that were spread out across the room. "But the people I'm in business with, well, they like a show. They like live action. They like to know that what is happening is real. But how would I ever get an FBI agent to just come with me to be killed, especially one that I really really want to kill? Well you've got to give them a reason to trade their life for that of someone else." He pointed to Nita.

"You just said killing her does nothing for you." Luke was stalling for time at this point.

"True, but that doesn't mean that I can't kill her for effect. Then we both don't get what we want." Michael stated. "Right now, all that's wrong with her is a little bit of medicine that makes her sleepy, but that could change."

"So if I come with you right now, you're telling me you'll let her go, and that's the end of it?" Luke questioned.

"Essentially," Michael shrugged.

"And you think you can make it out of here, just the two of you, if I didn't agree?" Luke asked.

"Perhaps not, but I know one thing." He pointed to Nita. "She wouldn't. That collar around her neck is something I have dreamt of since I was a kid, and it finally came to fruition. It's a small explosive, just a tiny baby one. It wouldn't even hurt the rest of you - well, maybe your ears - but it will kill her instantly. And Ralph has the detonator. I always thought it would be a nice way to get people to do what you wanted. Fear will make you do a lot of things. But once we're gone, I have no doubt that the Black Queen would be able to disarm it, but she needs to be a lot closer to it, and I won't allow that until you're in my car."

"So you were right about one thing. We are at an impasse, and what exactly do you think would happen? I would walk out of here with you? Even if you kill me before they hunt your sorry ass down, you think they'll just let you walk free? That they'd forget that you killed an agent, and that they'd not look for your friend here?" Luke shifted after Michael mentioned Penelope's old alias.

"That's the thing. Part of the appeal of joining a big crime organization is that I don't have to worry about such things. There's a certain amount of protection that comes along with it," Michael stated. "I've done my part for them, but they've obviously helped me along the way, as you've surmised.

Derek's voice came through again. "He was given fake passports, new I.D., a house in a no-extradition country, and payment. He thinks he can walk away, and they'll protect him."

"Oh, I didn't mention that my friends are impatient, and you don't have much time," Michael said.

"And what are you going to do? Kill her, you lose your bargaining chip," Luke told him.

"Oh, Agent Alvez, I did think this through a little bit. I could do a few different things. Maybe one of my associates is watching Alex Blake at her lecture right now, or maybe someone is following Jack to class. But you're right. Those are large bargaining chips, and we don't want to have to take it that far. So I'll start smaller. I was obviously keeping tabs on your investigation, but how? Oh right, the camera I set up in my office when I heard you were coming. So maybe Ralph sends a text to one of our associates to release a certain video of you and your girlfriend?" He turned to Prentiss. "Surely you're going to write them up for orgasms on the clock?" His smug look made Luke want to beat his face in. "You've got sixty seconds."

"Prentiss," Luke spoke her name, communicating his decision.

"Alvez, no. If Blake were in danger, I would have gotten a call, and he doesn't know where Hotch is because even I don't," Prentiss spoke to him.

"Ah yes, but then what of the predicament of that little video getting out? Ms. Garcia of all people can tell you that, once it's on the internet, it lives forever." Michael was smug as he spoke.

"Not the concern." Although Luke was quite concerned. The last thing he wanted was Penelope to feel violated in that way. She never gave permission to anyone else to see her in that moment, except him, but he also didn't see a way out that ensured his grandmother's safety. "Prentiss." This time he said her name in question, asking what their plan was if it wasn't this.

Emily looked at the two men in front of them. Ralph was much bigger than Nita, but he was seated behind her. There was no clear shot, and his gun was very much still trained on her. And no one knew how real the collar was. Speaking for the first time to the unsub, she put her gun down slowly by her side, "If you want him, you have to give me a few minutes to guarantee the other agents are safe, so we know you only have one." Prentiss informed him calmly.

He wasn't expecting that. He glanced to Ralph asking for approval, and then back to Emily. "Agent Alvez drops his gun and takes off his vest, cell phone out of pocket, and then you can make your calls."

Luke used his peripheral vision, seeing Prentiss nod. He put his gun on the table in front of him, then unstrapped his vest, letting it fall to the ground, and then pulled his cell phones out of his pocket, setting it next to his gun.

Michael had watched him. When he was through, he turned to Prentiss. "Three minutes."

Emily nodded and walked out of the house, pulling her cell phone out, and leaving the rest of the agents with their guns still trained on Michael. She quickly typed out two pre-prepared signals to the protective detail on Blake, as well as to the Marshall that was watching Hotch. Derek was watching her as she came down the steps. Penelope was still in the car typing away. The door was open. "Michael wants Luke to come with him in exchange for Nita's safety. His initiation into the organization is by killing an agent."

Penelope gasped, and tears were rolling down her face instantly. "No," she choked out.

Emily shook her head slightly. "They have a collar around Nita's neck that they say would kill her instantly. Michael claims that you would be able to figure out how to disarm it after they leave. We can't take that risk. Luke won't take that risk. I don't want him to go either, but I have about ninety seven seconds to come up with a way to save both of them."

Derek's brow was furrowed as he thought. His eyes travelled towards the house and then back to Penelope whose face was the perfect picture of pain and torture. "What about this organization? What is the reason they need a tech guy anyway?" Derek questioned Penelope.

She shook her head, making the tears on her face fly off as she did so. She turned back to her computer, typing faster than she ever thought she had which was saying something. "Their initial request was for someone to move money around by hacking into banks, but it looks like that quickly turned into getting someone who could interrupt cameras and surveillance. And apparently Michael was the final choice because of these collars that do in fact look real." She rotated the screen so the other two could see the schematics she'd found.

"I'm assuming they've been doing a stellar job at commiting crimes prior to this, if most of them are still out on the streets, and yet- " Prentiss spoke quickly.

Penelope was still typing. "There was a response from someone that said not to trust them. Their last tech was killed. I can try to make contact with the person who posted it. Maybe they know."

"Do it, but I'm out of time." Prentiss pulled out her phone, seeing the confirmations that the other agents were indeed safe. She had figured as much. Michael didn't really need anything other than Nita to get his way. She studied Penelope who was concentrating on her screen, before giving Derek a knowing glance, seeing him take a deep breath. She turned and swiftly made her way back into the home, slowly approaching her spot in between the other agents.

"Thought you were going to run out of time. That would've been a shame." Michael glanced down to his watch.

"Well, it did take a couple of minutes to confirm safety," she said calmly.

"Remember, you are truly trading your agent's life here. I may not be as good as Garcia, but I am good enough to have scanners out for every single piece of FBI issued equipment. Meaning you can't have an unmarked car follow me because I've hacked the frequency, same for your phones and tablets. The FBI has special codes on all of their equipment for safety, so they could always find agents if they still had something on them, but, see, I knew that. So if anyone comes near us, my handy little alert will tell me so." He lifted up a phone in his hand. "So I assume that we have a deal?" Michael said smugly.

"Take your gun off of her," Prentiss spoke.

"Alvez will take her place first." Michael shrugged.

Luke walked forward, letting Michael tie his hands in front of him, sneering at him as he did so.

"Well then, I guess we'll be off." Ralph spoke to them all as he hauled Nita to her feet and planted himself by the door. The other agents inched back but kept their guns up.

"You leave my grandmother here. That's the deal," Luke gritted out through his teeth.

"Yes, we will, as soon as we get you in the car. Ralph stays here with Granny as you walk happily to that car right out there with me. Ralph's remote detonator has a bit of a distance issue, about three feet. Don't worry. I'm working on it. But once you're inside, I'll have a gun on you. Ralph follows us out, and Granny stays here. Of course, if Ralph doesn't come out, then you die in the car. See how this works?" Michael said annoyingly. "Objections?" Michael glanced to Prentiss and then to all the other agents that were standing around. "Good."

Michael kept his hand on Luke's back as he got to his feet. "Prentiss." He hissed at her and then tilted his head towards the front.

She nodded before speaking into her com quietly. "Morgan, Alvez is leaving with the unsub. Make sure Garcia is okay."

Derek put his hand up to his ear, a moment's shock written on his face. He made a decision and got in the car, shutting and locking the doors. He put his arms around her. "Derek, what are you doing?" She looked at him like he was nuts, but she didn't move.

He tried to shield her face with his body, but, when he saw her eyes go wide, he attempted to comfort her. "Baby Gi-"

"Oh my God! What is happening? Why is he with him? Why are his hands tied?" She was screaming it and trying to get out of Derek's grasp, although she had no idea why. She wouldn't know what to do if she did. "Luke! Luke!"

"He's got to go, so he can save Nita, okay? We'll get him back. You'll get him back."

Tears were flooding her eyes as she saw Michael push Luke towards a vehicle not too far up from them. Luke glanced towards the car. He couldn't see her, but he'd heard her faint screams. Even if they were just beginning, he was glad he told her how he felt. It was a bittersweet thought if he'd ever known one.

A couple minutes later, he watched Ralph walk out alone and gave a sigh of relief, knowing that his grandmother was going to be safe. Ralph got in the backseat next to him, putting a gun to his ribcage, and seconds later they pulled away. He turned his head, hoping to see Penelope one last time. It was a mistake because, as soon as he saw her tear streaked face getting out of the car with Derek right behind her holding her back, he remembered why taking that risk for love was always so far away for him. The pain he saw on her face was too much to bear, and it momentarily made him regret telling her anything - regret making her feel that much about him, regret being too noble and trading his own life for someone else's, regret of their one day together, regret not letting her keep him at a distance, regret taking Rossi's offer to ever join the BAU... And then he remembered that she would tell him that she didn't regret a damn thing. He knew that he finally fell in love, and, if he had to die, at least he was allowed to know that feeling, if only for a day. He let a small smile grace his face as he gazed through the window as the city passed him by.


	17. Chapter 17

I will update Cash, Signals, and Summer in the next couple days. Then Fog and a new one shot in the next couple weeks. This story only has 3 more chapters to go.

Thanks for all the reviews, favs, and follows. I have a lot going on so I might not get back to you as quickly as I wish but I am still trying to update nearly everyday until the season premier.

Thanks to everyone who has checked on me, things are back and forth but I hope they settle down soon.

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As soon as the car pulled away, Reid ran out to the porch. "Morgan, Morgan, get Garcia in here. She needs to get this thing off of Nita."

Derek nodded at him, grabbing Penelope by the arms. "Baby Girl, listen to me. We need to make sure Nita is safe, okay? As soon as she is, we're going to go get him. But you need to do this for Alvez, alright? For Luke."

His name snapped her out of her trance of glaring down the road at the nothing that was now there. "Okay, okay." She wiped the tears on her face. "Laptop."

Simpson pulled up to the house and quickly got out of his car with his gun raised. Derek nodded to him. "Logan's around the side of the house. Our unsub left already." Simpson nodded at him and jogged past the large tree that led to Luke's old window.

Derek grabbed Penelope's laptop and followed her towards the house. She stepped inside, ignoring the faces of pity she was getting as she did so. Derek handed her the laptop. She sat down on the couch just a few feet from Nita, looking at the blinking on the collar. She started typing, running code, checking frequency. "Spencer!" she shouted.

He came up next to her. "What is it?"

"The blinking, how many times per minute?" She didn't look at him as she typed.

"Twenty seven."

"Colors?"

"Blue, green, red, red."

She nodded and continued to type as she tried to stifle her tears so that her eyes wouldn't become clouded. "Okay, this is it. Be prepared to throw this thing because, unless I take the time to recode it, I bet I can only contain the explosion for thirty seconds."

Simmons came closer to Nita and nodded at Penelope who was still staring at her screen.

Tara opened the window closest to him and also nodded.

"Three, two, one." Penelope counted down, and then a horrible loud screeching started. Matt grabbed the now released collar from her neck and got to the window, throwing it towards the back of the driveway, far enough from the house next door. Tara shut the window and followed the others lead putting their hands up to their ears.

In seconds they heard the tiny explosion. Simmons reopened the window and looked at the small pillow of smoke rising on the asphalt. "We're good." He reported to the others.

"Okay, now tell me how to get my boyfriend back," Penelope said to the room.

They froze momentarily while they adjusted to the title before JJ started speaking. "We need to know where they are first, and we don't."

"And we can't take any official FBI vehicles," Rossi said.

"Or coms," Reid mentioned. "He says he can track any official F.B.I equipment."

"Okay, so how do I find him?" Penelope gritted out.

"My cell phone," Nita said groggily as she waking up. "Mi nino, I asked him to fix it for me. He might still have it."

Rossi walked to the coffee table where Luke's stuff was. "If he had it in his pocket, they weren't checking for it. His work and personal cells are both here."

"Okay, okay, I can work with that." Penelope started typing. In seconds she had a fast moving blue dot on the screen, indicating where they were going.

"Okay, now we just need to get there," JJ said.

"My car," Nita said.

Penelope was suddenly loving Nita's analog lifestyle. "Would Frank let us use his truck?" Prentiss asked.

Nita nodded quickly. "Let me go ask." She attempted to get up, but she fell back onto the chair again. Matt and Tara were still near her and guiding her into the seat.

"I'll go ask him. I met him the other day, canvassing," Rossi spoke quickly and hustled out the front door to the neighbor's house.

"We still need to figure out what to do when we get there, wherever there is. He most likely set up similar traps or devices already," Prentiss spoke.

Penelope squinted at her screen. "I have the basic schematics of how he rigged this one, meaning, even if another one is on a slightly different frequency, I can write code and stall it if I can tap into it, which would mean a short radius for me." She made a decision. "Matt, go get whatever might be left of the collar. Let me see if there's anything on it. JJ, go get my personal laptop in Luke's room. Derek, my flats, they're by the back door." She didn't hear any of them moving. "Go!" she screamed.

The three people moved as soon as the last word fell from her lips. "Garcia, how close of a range would you need?" Prentiss asked.

"Based on what we saw here, about fifteen feet," Reid answered.

"So when he said within three feet, he was lying?" Tara asked.

"Maybe not. If Ralph was that close to her with a detonator, then it was probably something that interferes with the frequency as well." Reid left the answer hanging there.

Penelope was still typing as she listened to Reid explain what she already knew. Rossi walked in holding some keys up. "Got them."

Matt ran back in the door and held up the broken and burned collar in front of Penelope. She grabbed a few pieces of wire from it as she inspected how it was built.

Derek walked back with her shoes bending over in front of her, taking off her heels for her and helping her slide her feet into them as she continued typing. JJ walked down the steps and held the laptop in her hands.

Penelope held her hand out, letting JJ place the laptop there. Penelope opened it and began typing again. "Listen, everyone, we are going to get there wherever there is, and then we are going to get me as close to Luke as possible because, no doubt, there's already a collar on him. Take off every FBI issued electronic you have." Penelope nodded her head, picked up both laptops, and headed to the door.

Everyone pulled out their earpieces, cell phones, and then followed her. "Derek, you stay here with Nita." Prentiss spoke before letting him out of the door.

"Prentiss, no way in hell I'm letting my Baby Girl go out there in that kind of danger without me."

"That's exactly it, Morgan. It's danger, something you promised your son you would avoid. You were here because we thought your family was in danger. Now we know that's not true, and I can't let you break that promise," she said softly.

Derek scanned her face. Although there was anger in his eyes, he knew she was right. "Bring her back to me, you understand?" he said in a low voice.

They heard footsteps on the porch. Logan and Simpson were on either side of Mannon. He also seemed groggy but otherwise unharmed. "They just left him on the back porch. Seems alright, but let's call the medics." Logan nodded to Derek as he moved the end table so it was easier to lay him on the couch.

"Why wouldn't they have just taken him?" Derek asked perplexed as Emily watched them deposit the man on the couch.

"Michael said he wanted to prove he could make somebody do something. Drugging someone wouldn't serve his purpose. Plus, he said he liked that I brought him bagels on Fridays," Mannon answered.

Prentiss nodded. "Keep Nita safe. Call the medics for both of them."

Derek watched as Penelope got in the front seat of the truck Rossi was driving. Simmons and JJ hopped in the bed of the truck.

Prentiss started up Nita's small car, Tara in the passenger's seat and Reid in the back. "Wheels up, everyone," she muttered to herself.

….

They followed the direction of the blue dot on Penelope's screen. Once the location was stationary for a few minutes, she spoke to Dave. "He's in a warehouse in the meatpacking district." She opened the slider window to the back of the truck. "Here, look at this location," she instructed JJ and Matt.

They both squinted at it and then nodded to her. She pulled the laptop back in. "Ten minutes." She waited until they were on a side street, and then she chucked the work laptop out the window. "If I wasn't on the verge of total collapse, I would not only hate myself for destroying precious equipment but also for littering," she muttered to Rossi as she opened her personal computer on her lap.

He put his hand on the back of her head, letting his thumb rub her cheek where the stains from her dried tears were. "It's okay, kiddo. We'll get him back, and in no time he'll be proposing, and I'll get to walk you down the aisle. Don't sweat it. You got this." He let his hand slip away.

Penelope nodded and squared her shoulders. He was right. She wasn't going to get anywhere thinking about the bad outcomes, and she swore to the universe, Buddha, Mother Earth, or Jesus, that whichever one of them helped her save Luke, she'd propose to _him_ if necessary. No more hiding for her. It wasn't worth it.

When they started to approach the correct street, Matt knocked on the window, indicating they should pullover. Rossi pulled the truck to the side. Matt and JJ jumped out of the back of the truck.

Prentiss pulled the car up behind them. As soon as they were all on the sidewalk together, Emily spoke. "How far are we?"

"Based on what I saw on the map, it's either this building down here or this one up here." Simmons nodded to the buildings that were half a block up.

"And they definitely have weapons of the traditional and technical kind," JJ said.

"If we approach from the south side, they wouldn't be able to see us if we hug the building." Tara told them as she looked down the street.

"It's got to be the second building," Reid stated. "The first one is too close to the cell tower. A few more feet, and they would be out of range of any interference from it."

"Garcia-" Emily began.

"I'm fine. Let's go." She actually wasn't fine at all. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. She wanted to go in and knock those doody heads in the face, but right now, more than any of that, she wanted Luke back.

Emily nodded at the group, they approached close to the building just as they'd discussed. Without coms, it was suicide to split up. "Okay, we need to work together and silently. If you can knock someone out, then do that instead of shooting," Emily said to them.

As they got to the a side entrance of the warehouse, they carefully slipped in through the doors and stayed close to the walls as they moved through the space. Voices were coming from a far end of the warehouse. There were offices and old equipment littered throughout the space, and they couldn't see through the mess to get a clear line of vision. Rossi was at the head of the pack, but they heard a door being slid upwards, one of the old delivery truck entrances. A vehicle pulled in. A man in the driver's seat got out and opened the back door, allowing a large older man with a cigar dangling from his lips to climb out.

"Boss, the geek came through. Can you imagine?" Ralph came around the corner to greet the man.

"Well, I'm certainly glad that he did. With all this tech crime now, we need someone on call, and I was not having fun with the interviews. Do you know how many nerds I've killed this year? There's no fun in it." The team recognized him from the photos they pulled after they made the connection. Vinny walked around the corner Ralph had come from, and the driver stayed put next to the vehicle.

Rossi made a forward motion with his hand and then pointed around one of the large shelving units in order to tell half the team to come from the other side. Simmons came around the corner first and knocked the driver in the back of the head. He and JJ caught the guy before he could slam to the ground. JJ pulled out cuffs and linked his hands and then let Simmons drag him away from the line of sight hiding him behind the car.

Emily nodded and then made the same forward gesture with her hand that Rossi had done. As they approached the new opening, they could hear the three casual voices. Emily chanced a peek around the corner. Luke was sitting in a chair, his hands still tied, but he was otherwise unrestrained, except the collar around his neck, which was truly all the restraint they needed for him.

Scanning the vast open space of the warehouse, Emily could see that Luke was at least a hundred feet from them and there was no more debris to hide behind in order to get Penelope close enough to deactivate the device. She turned back to the others and whispered. "There's no one else, just those three, but Alvez is too far away from here."

Reid nodded to her and then to Garcia looking around the corner as well. He turned back to the group. "I can't see the pattern from here, and, even if I could, you're right, we're still too far."

"So you need to get me over there," Penelope said resolutely.

The team all exchanged glances as they took in Penelope's resolved face. Tara looked up to the high ceiling. JJ followed her line of sight, nodding her agreement. "Up there, if we can get her across to the other side, it might be close enough," Tara stated as she pointed towards the far end of the warehouse where the scaffolding led.

"Okay, I'll go," Penelope said, pulling off her cardigan and dropping it on the ground.

The entire team saw the cuff marks on her wrists and a few bruises, possibly from other restraints, but this was a time to compartmentalize that information, even if it was an interesting discovery.

"Garcia, if they see you, they'll shoot you. Plain and simple," JJ told her.

"Then we better make sure they don't," she said matter of factly, as she tucked her laptop under her arm.

"Garcia, you should let us distract them first," Prentiss scolded.

"And then what? If they kill Luke with a press of a button in the meantime, oh well?" She was having none of it. "I need to disarm that device first."

"It's possible that they have a fail safe for the device, operating on a different frequency," Reid stated to her. "It's possible Luke won't be safe either way."

"I already thought of that, so no they won't. He'll be safe when I get there. Don't you dare say otherwise." She stared them down.

Rossi glanced at Prentiss. "Okay, we'll be here. Signal as soon as you're ready."

"I'll go with you," Reid stated. He needed to help her figure out the pattern, and there was no way she would be going alone anyway.

She nodded at him and turned to the spot where there was a metal ladder up to the scaffolding. It was about a six foot climb and then it was basically a crawl across about fifty feet of old metal scaffolding. She huffed. "Damn it, this is why I was supposed to wear underwear today." She scowled down at her dress.

Despite the severity of the situation, she made everybody crack a smile. "Uh, I'll go up first," Reid told her.

She was grateful for that thought. The last thing she needed was for Spencer to have to crawl behind her in her dress. At least it was flowy and not fitted, small miracles. She watched him holster his gun and climb the small ladder. She handed the laptop to Matt since he was the tallest and watched him hand it up to Reid before moving away from the ladder. She climbed up and met Spencer at the top. He handed the laptop back to her so he could pull his gun if necessary.

She looked down at the scene below them. "Okay, let's go."


	18. Chapter 18

I've had some wine tonight and I have nothing clever to say, so... don't steal other people's ideas, and thanks for the reviews and favs and all that!

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Penelope carefully tried to follow behind Spencer. He was at least light on his feet, if not the most coordinated, but she was never known for her stealthiness. In fact, she was certain she would have never ever put herself in this position. She would have let them figure out another way to get him back safe, but not this time. She felt the obligation to do it herself. For once she trusted fully in herself to do what needed to be done. She always wondered where everyone else's bravery came from. She never really understood their ability to lay themselves out like this, but now, seeing Luke below her, only a button push away from being gone, she couldn't imagine sitting on the sidelines.

Spencer was almost to the end of the metal pathway. He could see Michael now. He was directly towards the back wall. There were a few desks and computers set up. This was definitely not the base of operations, but they probably made him prove his technological prowess before showing him command central. He was in the line of sight to take a shot but still too far away to ensure that it would be immediately successful, and, if it wasn't, Michael was right next to all of the technology that probably would allow him to hurt Luke before he even fell to the ground. He glanced over to Emily who was standing at the same spot peeking around the corner and shook his head. Emily acknowledged him, and Penelope opened her laptop and started typing furiously, hoping that the clacking of her keyboard wouldn't echo around the warehouse.

Luckily, both Vinny and Michael were very pleased with the sounds of their own voices. Michael was standing over his computer. "Okay, I have to route the broadcast through a few servers first. Even if they catch the stream right away, they won't be able to shut it down before he's dead," Michael announced before walking to a camera on a tripod pointed towards Luke.

"Very good. I am quite old fashioned. I'm a not a fan of doing this new fangled tech crime, but I must say, this is most convenient." Vinny put a cigar in his mouth and laughed with Ralph.

"Yes, sir, that is one good thing. We don't have to make multiple bodies turn up everywhere when we can make sure that our rivals see us take out just one, albeit in an exuberant way," Ralph agreed with his boss.

"Okay then, we'll be ready in less than ninety seconds," Michael announced as he checked the time.

Penelope was typing furiously. Reid turned towards her. "It's the same pattern, except it's blinking at thirty four times per minute."

She nodded, never looking up from her screen as she hacked into the circuit that Michael was on and started to scramble his digital commands. She was making headway when she heard a beeping alert come from the computers below. Michael ran over to them and started cursing. "No, no, that's impossible."

"What's the issue?" Vinny asked.

"There's a scramble in my - no, that's impossible. This can't be done from long range. That was the whole point."

"Then you must've miscalculated," Ralph told him.

Michael glared at him with gritted teeth. "I don't miscalculate." He was typing and glancing between his three screens, trying to get the programming to change, fighting off whatever was happening.

"No one is here. Rick would've seen them and take a look around." Ralph opened his arms indicating the vast space in front of them. "Even if they found the building, they are not in here which means they aren't close enough," he explained to Michael as if he was an idiot.

Both him and the boss man were sure it was Michael's incompetence. "I've gotten rid of everyone else that didn't satisfy my needs. I won't hesitate with you either. There are people waiting to see this live execution. They're waiting to see Vinny Leon kill an FBI agent. You better make it happen. Otherwise they're going to see me kill two." He narrowed his eyes at Michael.

Michael began to sweat but ignored the man in front of him. He was sure that the gun in his own pocket would do the trick before Ralph got to him. He was prepared to kill all three men in front of him if he had to.

Luke knew it was Penelope. He knew she was doing this, which meant she was probably close by, although he hoped she miraculously found a way to do this from afar. He wanted to send his eyes around the room, scanning for her, but he didn't want to give anything away. "Hey, just so you know, he was denied full agent status. He's only a tech, and he's not even close to being our best one," Luke finally spoke to the man in front of him.

Vinny looked at Luke, intrigued by this information. "That's not what he told us."

"Yeah, well, honesty isn't his specialty."

"He got you here, and you're staying put without even being tied to anything," Vinny countered

"I'm not saying he doesn't have skills. I'm saying that he's not the best, which is why he's not an agent," Luke informed the man.

Vinny was no fool. He didn't underestimate nor did he disregard someone like Luke. He had no problems with a man personally, unless they made it personal. Luke was just a figure in the game; he was just a person with enough authority to earn the man the respect he needed. "Well, then, Mr. Michael, I think you've got some explaining to do."

"Mikey, you probably don't want to find out why his nickname is Pasta. I'd think this through." Luke sniggered.

Michael was distracted. He was trying to figure out what was happening to his system, while also keeping an eye on Ralph who would surely carry out a hit if Vinny snapped his fingers. But at Luke's confident tone, he glanced up at him wondering for the first time if that wasn't just a nickname because he's an Italian mob boss.

Penelope never stopped working. She was almost done with what she needed. "Okay, Luke is safe," she whispered to Reid. He was about to signal to Emily for them to sweep in and get the men, but she harshly whispered, "No."

"Garcia, what…"

"I'm doing this. I'm doing this." She still couldn't guarantee that he would be safe. They were far enough away from the three men that someone could quickly pull a gun on Luke and use him for leverage. Her team couldn't come out in the open quicker than Vinny could reach Luke who was a mere ten feet from him.

Luke felt the vibration of the collar stop. He almost smiled, but he didn't move. He knew she'd done it, but there was no movement yet. He waited, knowing they were there somewhere. "Vinny, I'd go look at what he's doing. He might be lying to you already," Luke told the man.

Vinny nodded at him, and then Ralph pulled his gun out, pointing it at Michael as Vinny took a few steps toward him to look at the screens Michael was so engulfed in. Vinny was getting too close to him, and Ralph's gun was out. This made Michael step back and pull his own gun, pointing it at Vinny and stepping away from his computers.

"Ah ha." Penelope's tongue was between her teeth as she made the final adjustments to her favorite new invention.

"So, this is how you are going to play it, Michael. I thought I told you this was about loyalty," Vinny said calmly. He had been doing this too long to be afraid of a geeky, sweaty newcomer, and he knew Ralph was a quicker shot.

"Stay back, and I'll fix it." Michael tried to bargain.

"What if-" Vinny's voice was cut off by the sudden sparking of the computers in front of him. The other collars and devices splayed across the desks all began fizzing and buzzing.

"Luke, throw it and move!" Penelope screamed from her spot above him. Luke reached up with his still tied hands and pulled the collar from his neck, flinging it away as he ran from his chair in the opposite direction of the other three.

They had no time to even figure out where the voice was coming from as all of the technology around them began to catch fire. Michael and Vinny tried to get around the table, but there were too many sparks. They dove to the ground while Ralph ran the opposite direction right towards where the team was coming at them. He dropped his gun and put his hands up. Tara tackled him, and the whole team ducked as they heard a final huge boom, and, with that, all the computers went up in flames.

Luke ran towards Rossi, who cut the rope around his wrists as they moved away from the flames. "Hey, you're the only one with a cell phone. You'll have to call this in," Rossi told him as they watched the flames from across the warehouse. Both Michael and Vinny were trapped behind them, still alive, but with no way around the fire.

Luke narrowed his eyes at him, but, before he could respond, they heard Penelope yell from above. "Already done." She got up from her spot and began walking hastily towards the beginning of the path to the ladder with Spencer right behind her. Luke watched her, with fear and pride in his eyes. He followed her path with his gaze and ran around the corner to where the ladder was just as she was getting there. He waited at the bottom as she handed the laptop to Spencer before descending the ladder into Luke's waiting arms. As soon as he felt her, he held onto to her like she was the only thing that could keep him alive, and, in many ways that day, she absolutely was. She wrapped her arms around his back, putting her hands in his hair as she held onto him.

He pulled back to look at her face. "You shouldn't have come," he whispered near her mouth.

"Don't say that. I had to. I couldn't lose you. I love you." She held onto him still.

"So you're not listening to orders when I tell you save yourself before me?"

"It's the one order I won't follow," she said quietly.

"Hey, Love Birds, we should do this outside," Rossi told them.

There were firemen running past them now, listening to Emily as she told them the men who were behind the flames were dangerous. Her, Simmons, and JJ were standing next to the firemen as they put the flames out. They still had their guns raised so that they could take them as soon as they were able to. Luke and Penelope filed outside where Tara was handing Ralph off to the cops that had shown up right after the firetruck.

Rossi and Reid went to retrieve the driver that was still out cold.

Luke had practically carried Penelope out of the warehouse, now out of danger, he still wouldn't let her go.

"Honey, I'm not the one that was in trouble." Penelope giggled.

"That's not what I just saw." He pulled back to scan her face again.

"I was never going to leave you. I was never going to be able to sit around while I knew that you were out here, and I could do something about it. I can't do it. Not now." She finally let a few tears fall. She had been impressed with herself that she had kept it together this whole time.

He put his thumb up to rub them away from just underneath her eyes. "I love you. I never want to be without you, Penelope." He put his forehead on hers.

She tried to look at him, but she could barely see the bottom of his chin and the top of his chest. "Well I don't think Em's going to let me into the field all the time, despite how good I apparently am at it," she joked.

He smiled, but he closed his eyes putting his hand in her hair and keeping her head on his. "No, that's not what I meant, Penelope."

She took in a deep breath and tried to pull away, so she could see his face, but his grip was keeping her close to him, not letting her move. "Luke…" She whispered to him, fresh tears falling down her face.

His eyes were still closed, and he smiled again, finally letting his hand fall from the back of her head and pulling away to look in her eyes. "Don't worry. I'm not asking here, like this, but I'm going to ask. We already wasted enough time." The sincerity in his eyes calmed her even though she felt like she wasn't breathing. Apparently, she wasn't. "Breathe, Chica. I've never been so sure of something in my entire life." He leaned in to kiss her which she returned with as much emotion as she had in her.

"If this is going to be how the two of you are everytime we finish a case, we're going to need to start keeping a lot more alcohol in the office." JJ's voice broke through their trance.

Luke and Penelope stopped kissing, but they continued to hold each other. She was biting her lip as she looked into his eyes. The emotion he was conveying to her and the weight of what he'd told her made her feel shy and anxious. But he appeared beyond sure of himself. She finally gave an almost imperceptible nod, and then he wiped the tears from her cheeks getting the little bit of mascara that had run down with it before letting her turn to the others. "So we're all good here?" he asked Prentiss as he pulled Penelope by the hand the few feet towards the others.

Emily nodded. "We are. All four men are in custody. Both Vinny and Michael have a few minor burns and probably smoke inhalation, but they'll be fine."

"Yeah, how did this go from a nice rescue operation to an arson?" Rossi raised an eyebrow at Penelope.

Penelope had the good grace to look sheepish. "Well, I may have possibly maybe broken into his database and maybe possibly overrode all of his commands so that maybe possibly his entire system overheated and possibly turned into something like a bomb type thing." She squinted one eye as she half explained - half excused what she did.

They all laughed but were thoroughly impressed with her skills. Emily tilted her head. "Well, can't wait to try and write that report," she announced dryly.

"Can we leave the part about the video out of it? I'm pretty sure if he only has digital copies I can erase any trace of it." Penelope watched Emily about to question it. "I can make sure I _only_ erase that. Everything else that might incriminate him will remain."

Emily nodded. "Well, to be honest, it might be easier to explain some footage going missing from his burned up system than explaining why you're the one getting handcuffed to things." She tried to hold in her laugh, but it was pointless once the entire team started cracking up.

Penelope turned red, and Luke tried to hide his embarrassment by turning his face into her hair. "Can someone give me back my cardigan please?"

Matt handed her the garment that she swiftly donned before reattaching to Luke.

"Alright, let's get out of here," Tara stated as they all followed her towards their borrowed cars.

Luke held Penelope at the back of the group, not letting her go. "Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I'll always come for you too. No matter what the cost. You're mine now," he told her.

"Oh yeah, and what if I don't agree to be yours, Caveman?"

"Oh, you'll agree. You want to know an odd thought I had while I was sitting there wondering if this was the day I died?" Penelope shook at his words, not wanting to think about it. Luke put a hand in her hair, brought her head to his chest, and kissed her temple as they strolled behind the others. "I thought, _well, at least I'll have her underwear in my pocket_. I mean, after all this time, at least I accomplished that much." He chuckled, and he felt her giggle against his chest as they walked.

"You're insane. You know, and of all days, this was the one you had to be a hostage. Today was not the day for a rescue mission. I'm too sore. Hey, how are you not sore?" Penelope's genuine curiosity made him laugh.

"I think I am, and I've got almost as many bruises and nail marks on me, even a few bites. But I think I am still on the adrenaline high."

"Being on the verge of death will do that to you."

"No. I'm on the adrenaline high of finally seeing you naked. It's a whole different thing." He shrugged. "We're going to stay here a few days. You'll have time to recover."

"Don't lie to me." She raised an eyebrow at him, making him laugh. "And what if I don't want to stay?"

"Oh, you do."

She tried to give him an angry glare, but all she conveyed was lust, and she knew it. "Yes, sir."


	19. Chapter 19

This is the last regular chapter for this story. There is a short epilogue that I will post soon but otherwise it is done. It was the second one I started posting last year when I got into writing Garvez so it's a bit sad.

Sorry about not posting yesterday. I have been in a lot of physical pain the past couple of days.

Thanks for all the support.

* * *

"I'm so glad you are all okay," Nita said to the group as she hugged Luke and then Penelope.

Derek waited until Nita was finished and then grabbed Penelope to hug her as well. He kept a hold of her as the group talked.

"Well we can finally be out of your way, and we can make sure no one has to sit on your porch all night," Prentiss said.

"Oh, that Jeremy will never hear the end of my stories now. Shame." Nita shook her head.

The group laughed, knowing she was referring to one of the agents she'd been acquainted with over the past few days.

"We should head out. It was nice to meet you, ma'am," Prentiss told Nita.

The team began filing out of the house when Emily took Luke to the side. "I assume you want to spend a few days here? If not, I'm still going to make you take a few days anyway." She tilted her head at him.

"I would like to spend them here," he said resolutely, and then he scratched the back of his head as he looked over his shoulder at Derek holding Penelope while they talked to his grandmother. "Any chance Garcia can-"

Emily let a big smile grow on her face. "Sure, as long as you are back in a reasonable amount of time, take a little bit to enjoy this." She waved at Nita and then followed her team.

Luke joined the three people already in conversation. "Prentiss said we could stay for a few days," he informed Penelope.

She rolled her eyes playfully but smiled. She was actually extremely happy to stay. "Well you're going to have to take me shopping because I didn't bring enough clothes."

Derek laughed. "That's my cue to leave. I know how much work that's going to be. Good luck, Kid." He gave Luke a pat on the back before giving Penelope a parting kiss on the cheek and another squeeze. He said his goodbye to Nita as well, and Luke shut the door after him.

"Although I am alright, I still think I should lay down and sleep the rest of this whatever off." She held her hand up. "That Derek called the paramedics to come check me out while you were gone. I'm fine. I will just be drowsy, and it will work its way out of my system on its own."

"Alright, but I'm going to walk you upstairs to your room. No arguments."

"Ay, fine," she said to him, before turning to Penelope. "Mija, I'm so glad you're staying."

Luke took Nita's arm and led her up to her room. Penelope watched after them wistfully. She sighed after they were out of sight, and she rounded the couch, sitting down and kicking her shoes off. She was so glad Luke was back and safe, but now that the chaos was over, so was the adrenaline high that made them both sure about marriage, one day into their relationship. She had to actually talk to him. She was pretty nervous, and she felt incredibly stupid, but there was nothing she could do now.

Luke took the steps two at a time. She glanced over her shoulder when she heard his footsteps. "Don't you ever stop being so athletic? It's a little annoying if I'm honest." He chuckled and joined her on the couch, pulling her legs over his lap and rubbing her feet. "Okay, nevermind. Do whatever you want." She closed her eyes, loving the foot massage she was getting.

"Oh, in that case." He made like he was going to pin her to the couch, but he let her playfully push him back to sitting.

"Your grandmother is right upstairs, and it's broad daylight out." She reprimanded him with a smile. "Besides," she replaced the grin with a somber look as she fidgeted with one of her nails, "I need to talk to you about something."

Luke stiffened. "Are you serious, Penelope? We're one day in, and you've already had to save my life. Is there really something else wrong already?"

Penelope sighed, "Sort of." She hunched her shoulders, holding them for a moment before thinking about it and releasing them. "So here's the thing. I am kind of incredibly stupid, and I just - well we didn't use anything, ya know. It's been two years since I was in a relationship, so I got off birth control because it's not like you need it regularly while you're single, so I wasn't thinking about it." She was wincing, hoping that he wouldn't be too mad. "But there's the morning after pill. We can go get that, and I mean there's very little chance of conceiving the one night we had sex so…"

Luke watched her nervously bite her lip and stare at him waiting for a reaction. He realized she was waiting on him, and he shook himself out of the trance he was in. "Umm no, that's-it's-we both are responsible for that. It's not like I asked. Like you said the chances are slim. It takes people months of trying sometimes. And if it does, well…" he caught her eyes. "We're both in this, right? You meant what you said? And so did I."

They both nodded at each other. "Well, okay then," she spoke tentatively.

"Yeah, okay then." He resumed rubbing her feet as they silently contemplated what they were both agreeing to. "So umm should we - should I go get uh - well do we try and prevent this now?" Luke turned back to her with genuine curiosity on his face.

Penelope's mouth made an 'o' shape while she tried to determine what to say. "I - I uh, do you want kids? I mean, either way, you don't want them now with me, uh right?"

Luke had his face scrunched in contemplation. "Well, if we're in this like we said we were, who else do you think I'd want them with?"

Penelope shrugged as she tried to hide the smile on her face. "I guess just me then. But still, only two days ago we wouldn't even tell each other how we felt. Are we-is this crazy?"

"Penelope, we've sort of been dating for months now, maybe even longer. I'm not sure, but what I do know is that, while the label might be a day old, the relationship isn't."

"So you want to not use anything?" She let the words drag out, not even believing that she was saying them.

"Honestly, not really." They both looked at the other with wide eyes, before they both made a move towards each other at the same time.

Luke pushed her legs apart and then loomed over her as she laid back and then brought her legs around his butt to pull him closer. She could already feel his arousal on her core. "Uh Luke, we really shouldn't do this here - the large open windows, the other person in the house that could come down at any moment." She was already out of breath as she half-heartedly protested while simultaneously holding him in place as he trailed kisses down her neck to her chest.

Luke huffed and then grabbed one of the big blankets tossed over the couch from their excursion two nights before. He sat back and then swiftly pulled her to the floor, bringing the blanket over their bodies, "There, no one can see. Now can you shut up please?" He pulled off his shirt and kicked off his shoes socks and pants within seconds before descending on her body again.

"Luke, this is not exactly what I meant." But she was sitting up, letting him unzip her dress to pull it off her body.

He then pulled the blanket over them completely so that they were fully shrouded in the darkness it created. "Stop whining, or you're getting punished right here in this living room instead of ravished."

She normally would have protested more, just to see what the punishment was, but she really was a little apprehensive about getting freaky in a shared space like this.

He took her silence as acceptance and unhooked her bra, letting her pull it off her body and discard of it. His lips immediately found her nipple, and he let his mouth surround it as he used both hands to hold each mound. He ran his thumb over her other nipple and then heard her let out one of the moans he had been so ecstatic to finally know what they sounded like. Now he knew exactly how to make them happen.

She reached down trying to push his underwear down his hips. "Naked, now."

"Hey, who's in charge here?" he mumbled as he trailed his lips down her stomach before sitting back to divest himself of his last remaining piece of clothing.

"Just do me, Alvez. You can dominate me later when I'm not in desperate need to feel you inside me."

"Are you not sore anymore?"

"Oh no, I am, but who cares? I'll take the pain as long as you're still promising pleasure."

….

Penelope and Luke spent the next two days mostly with Nita, but, whenever she would go to her various social gatherings, they took advantage of the empty house. Luke also managed to convince her to go back to the football field, but she managed to convince him to have sex on the green grass rather than play a stupid game she was never going to understand. They were supposed to be leaving the next day, so he wanted to take her somewhere alone before they went back to their everyday lives.

"Ma, do you mind if I take Penelope out before dinner?" Luke asked the woman standing in front of the stove. He was trying to do most of the cooking since she had such a strenuous few days, but she was adamantly refusing his help.

"Ay, mijo, what is with all of this asking permission? You were supposed to do that as a teenager, not when you're coming up on forty."

He cleared his throat and glanced over his shoulder to make sure Penelope was still nowhere in sight. She was going to take her sweet time getting ready. She had refused to put on any real outfits in the past couple days, claiming that she needed twenty four hours to recuperate from being a hero. "I just- I'm not asking if we can go, I'm asking if you-" He stopped mid sentence and started pleading with his eyes for her to not make him say it.

She let out a happy gasp and handed him the spatula in her hand before wiping her hands on the apron she had on. "Si, espera."

Luke heard her footsteps getting further away, and he tried to concentrate on the food in front of him, but he was operating on automatic. When he heard Nita return, he regarded her with wide eyes. She motioned for him to come closer, and she opened the box in her hands, "Mijo, I am so very happy for you. I think you are doing the right thing." He glimpsed the contents of the box before nodding to her and putting it in his coat pocket that he'd left hung on the back of one of the chairs.

"Thank you, Abuela. I think I am too."

"I knew you loved her since the first time you mentioned her name to me. You are different with her, and I know what that means for you." She grabbed his face in between her hands and then placed a kiss on his cheek. "Just don't screw this up, mijo." She winked at him as she picked up the spatula again to finish what he'd abandoned.

Penelope appeared in the kitchen. "Why are you making me leave the warm house that smells like a fun childhood and unconditional love?" Penelope scowled at him as he put his coat on.

"You don't want to see more of where I used to hang out?" Luke grinned widely at her pout.

"Yeah, I guess so."

They heard a knock on the back door, and Luke immediately reacted. He was making to grab his gun, but Nita stopped him. "It's just Frank."

Luke frowned at her. "How do you know?"

"He always comes to the back door at night because that nosy Mrs. Perea across the street sits in her window with binoculars after Jeopardy is over." Nita waved him off.

Luke's narrowed his eyes at her. "Whenever he comes over at night?"

"Well…" Nita shrugged.

Penelope was trying to contain her giggle, but Luke scowled at both women. He grabbed Penelope's hand. "We're definitely leaving now." He led her towards the front door. Penelope waved goodbye over her shoulder and winked at Nita who was straightening herself as she moved towards the back door.

….

"Why do you insist on making me trespass? I am not a law breaker." Luke glared at Penelope with an incredulous grin. "Okay okay, maybe I'm a law breaker, but a teeny tiny lawbreaker."

"This is not okay." She gestured around to the greenery. The sign at the entrance said it had been closed since five.

"I know, but I have my badge with me, so at the very least I can flash it and pretend we have something official to do here." He squeezed her hand as he teased her.

Penelope shook her head. "See, you're my boyfriend for five minutes, and you're already getting me in trouble."

Luke led her to a bench that overlooked the water. "Well, you like the bad boys obviously."

"Clearly." She huffed and then leaned on his shoulder as he brought his arm to the back of the bench to let her settle into his side.

They stayed quiet as they observed the water and the greenery. "Penelope…" He started but then abruptly stopped himself. He sat up adjusting himself on the bench and clearing his throat.

Penelope watched him curiously, eyeing him up and down and seeing him rub his hand over his knee. "Look Penelope, I - what we said the other day - or I guess what I - right so-" He took a deep breath to calm himself. "I just want to be clear with you. I am not taking it lightly that we aren't trying to prevent a pregnancy. It's not something I would do without knowing. I really believe that children should be wanted, and I think it's up to the people bringing them into the world to be prepared for them. I know a lot of people who have done that on a whim, and I think it's selfish because it's the child that pays for it when you choose the wrong person to have kids with, not you. So I just want you to know I wasn't caught up in a moment back then."

Penelope nodded. "I-I know. I wasn't either," she assured him.

He smiled. "Okay, good because I don't think that bringing a life into this world is - look I don't judge anyone for making their own choices. Hell, I know JJ was certain about her child but scared of marriage. You told me so. And I can't tell someone else how to feel. But for me, I know that marriage, while it should be, it's not always permanent, and a divorce may not be easy, but the point is it can be over and done with. A child never goes away. It's a much bigger commitment. Choosing someone to have a kid with who you are not sure you would marry sounds absurd to me. If you don't know if they're good enough for you, how are you certain they're good enough for your child? I just-" He cut himself off again.

She was trying to maintain her giggle that was still somehow bubbling over. "Luke, Baby, you're rambling."

"Right, right, all I'm trying to say is that, I wouldn't have said what I said, and I would have asked you if we could get the morning after pill, and I would've gone to buy condoms, if I wasn't sure about us." Luke was holding onto one of her hands, moving it back and forth and flipping it around.

Penelope could barely contain her giggle. She had to put this man out of his misery. "Luke, look at me." She waited until he took a deep breath, and his eyes connected with hers, "Luke Newbie Alvez, do you want to marry me?"

She watched as his eyes widened in shock, and then she saw that dumb smile that she pretended to hate but loved from the very beginning break out over his face. "Are you asking?"

"Yeah I am, but I warn you. I have no diamonds for you," she teased.

He chuckled and let his hand dig into his left pocket. "That's okay. I brought some." He handed her the box and watched as her face broke out into pleased shock.

"You have a ring? How do you already have a ring? We haven't left the house!" She asked as she opened the box and gasped.

"Yeah well, Abuela, she, well since I'm the - it's been in the family, and it's yours now if you say yes, or I guess it's yours now because I say yes," he told her, and he hesitantly picked it up from its place in the box waiting for her to accept.

She nodded and let a few happy tears fall from her eyes. "Holy crap, this was an awesome case," she proclaimed as she adjusted the ring onto her finger.

He laughed. "Yeah I'd get kidnapped every case if they all ended like this." They both reached in to kiss each other, him pulling her closer and gripping her thigh to halfway scoot her onto his lap and her holding on tightly to the lapel of his coat.

They both had to break away from the kiss, breathing heavily. "I have no idea how we got here." She breathed into his mouth as she let her eyelids stay closed and their foreheads touch.

"All I know is I wouldn't want to be here without you." He let his palms run up and down her back.

"I don't want to be anywhere without you," she whispered.

"Show off," he murmured

"Wait until I tell everyone I asked you," she teased.

He laughed. "I love you, Penelope. I'd go anywhere with you. Nothing had ever felt right without you."

"Well don't worry because, from now on, I'll make sure that, no matter how far I have to go to get you, everything will be okay when I get there."


	20. Chapter 20

So here is the epilogue. I know this story has been going on for awhile so it's a bittersweet thing to say goodbye to it. I hope everyone enjoyed the journey and I hope that my other stories will suffice from now on. I have been in pain and things have been weird for me lately. So I am grateful for the reviews, favs, and follows. It makes me smile when I see that you all are enjoying my stories. Please, know that no matter how old a story is, I will always appreciate a review you leave, so don't hesitate. This story may be over but it was something I worked on for a long time so of course I appreciate you reaching out.

* * *

"Conference room, kiddos. We have a case," Penelope called out as she strolled through the bullpen holding her files in one hand and her water in the other.

She set all of her stuff down and picked up the remote. The team were all gathered around the table, so she started explaining the case. After only the first picture of a victim came up, she stopped and had to steady herself putting her palm on the cool surface of the table and holding the other hand with the remote against her body.

"Garcia, if the pictures are too much for you, we can-" Prentiss was confused since the case wasn't even close to the most gruesome they'd seen, but she was interrupted when Penelope held up her hand and dropped the remote to the table.

Everyone stared at her with concern all over their faces, all of them ready to help, but Penelope kept her hand up to stop them.

Except Luke who was highly unamused when they all glanced to him for answers. "Honey, it's going to happen. There's no point in trying to stop it." She glared at him, but it was less intimidating than she would've liked when she whirled around to the trash can and threw up.

Luke stood up and held her hair as he rubbed comforting circles on her back. She felt her stomach even out, and Luke pointed to her water. Matt reached over and handed it to him. Luke brought it in front of her, and she drank some before nodding to him that she was okay.

He helped her turn to the others who resembled deer in headlights. "So, uh, I'm pregnant, if that wasn't blatantly obvious at this point." The sarcasm dripped off of her.

Although, the past couple minutes made them all assume that, their faces all widened in shock at the confirmation.

"You've been together for like two months," JJ said in wonder and befuddlement.

"Yup, and it's true what they say, kids. You really can get pregnant the first time. Well to be fair, we don't know which time - well the point is I'm eight weeks along, so do the math for yourselves."

"Uh, wow, uh, we're happy for you," Emily said.

Both Tara and Matt said congratulations at the same time, followed by JJ and Spencer.

"Ha, so when's the wedding?" Rossi cracked the joke.

"Actually, we were hoping in about two months," Luke said to them all, the shock was coming back to them full force again.

"I was joking, kid. You don't have to get married just because you knocked her up. No offense." Rossi said to Penelope who shrugged.

"We only found out she was pregnant a couple weeks ago. We've been engaged since New York," Luke informed them. As he kept his arm around her, she leaned into him for support.

"Wait, so that ring is real? I thought it was some of your costume jewelry. You wear rings on your left hand all the time." JJ got up to pull Penelope's hand in hers to inspect the ring closer.

"Aren't you all supposed to know my secrets before I do?" she joked.

Emily scoffed. "Well yeah, but we thought the relationship was enough revelation. At least until winter was over."

"I thought we'd have at least a year of you two sneaking around the office trying to hide secret rendezvous," Matt laughed.

"It's nice that you knew you wanted to get married before you knew this." Tara smiled sweetly.

Luke gave her a gracious nod. "Thank you. That's what I've been saying. She asks me everyday if I want to take it back, but somehow she didn't have any problem possibly bringing a kid into the world." Luke gave a half eye roll as he glanced at the women currently curled into his side.

"Well, I don't know. The ring is an agreement. A kid is an accident," she tried to argue shyly.

"It's not an accident if you're not trying to prevent it. We can get divorced and tear up the marriage certificate. I can't shove a kid back inside you. Are you really trying to argue that it's less of a commitment? Seriously, Penelope, we've been over this."

"Yeah yeah, I know. I know you're right. Just leave me alone," she said defeated as she held onto to his middle tighter.

Luke smiled at her affectionately, before turning towards the sound of JJ's voice. "So you were trying to get pregnant?"

"Not exactly, but not exactly not." Penelope squinted at her as she spoke.

"Well I guess we have a wedding to plan for," Rossi said.

"Yeah, I get to be a Godparent again," Spencer said.

"How presumptuous," Emily said laughingly.

"Not at all, Garcia and I have an agreement, one we sealed in the most sacred of places, Comic-Con afterparty," Spencer announced proudly.

"He's right," Penelope said to Emily before addressing Luke. "Sorry, Honey, it's a contract I have to uphold. You get no say. Oh shit! No one tell Derek." She realized in that moment that the abstract agreement she made years ago was actually not well thought out at all. She assumed it would always be hypothetical, but here she was smack dab in the face of reality.

Everyone laughed at her very real fear. "Okay, I hate being the boss sometimes, but we do have a case. Garcia, if you need to go home, we can get someone from the tech pool to fill in," Emily said.

"No, no, I'll be fine in like twenty minutes. It seems to happen an hour after breakfast, and then right after I fall asleep, the time in between I'm actually not so bad," she confirmed. "But someone else present the case. I need to sit."

Luke pulled her chair out for her, and she took a seat as Emily picked up the remote to continue.

"Oh wait, just one more thing," Penelope stopped everyone, and they waited for her to speak. "Was the agreement for the first born only?" she asked Spencer.

He furrowed his brow. "Uh, yes."

"Phew, well Derek should forgive me then." She nodded at Luke, before turning to the others, "Because we're having twins."

* * *

I am behind on responding to all of you. Sometimes sitting at the computer can really irk my pain so that is why. But I will get there eventually. I appreciate those of you who are intrigued by Manor, I just updated it yesterday and I know it's a different kind of story which is exactly why it is one of my favorite, along with Signals. I appreciate those of you going on a different journey with me.

I know this story ended with a happy pregnancy. I wrote it this way about six or maybe more months ago. It is rare I will ever write something with a baby. I truly believe. as Luke's character does, that a baby is a very serious commitment. It's another human being who will live and struggle the way we all do. I think it was okay to do that here because it is clear that their relationship is deeper than just infatuation. But, I have never believed kids are the only way to be happy. And I truly believe that Penelope wouldn't think having a child with someone she didn't think was good enough to marry was a good idea. I am not lecturing, at all. Some of the best kids I know are happy accidents, but it's the intention, and I believe Penelope knows Luke is the kind of man that would be an actual great father instead of just a dad. But, that is why the baby storyline is rare for me. I think it is a serious thing. But I know most of you enjoy it! Thank you all for understanding!

Thanks to BookDragon2013 for getting through this story with me.


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